When the Story Ends
by Cun
Summary: The defeat of Salem has brought hope, and a future no one dared hope for. Now one last task remains: Reclaiming Beacon Tower and reinstating the CCT system. However, while the Grimm are nearing extinction, Beacon has become their last stand. Even with the Silver-Eyed warrior and a Maiden on their side, reclaiming it turns out to not be as straight-forward as expected!
1. Chapter 1: Frozen

**Hi and welcome to my very first RWBY fanfiction! Obligatory introduction follows.**

 **For those that know my works in the Raildex universe, the style for my RWBY stories will pretty much be the same:** **Fast-paced, adventurous, plot-driven stories with a lot of focus on making the ride as fun as possible. Mainly by putting our beloved characters in testing, terrible, and/or crazy situations. And don't rule out a little romance, even if it isn't the main theme.**

 **I hope to expand my experience in story-telling and genres and hopefully, maybe some of you will like what you see here. For this story I've worked on "getting it done" which means I've focused mainly on moving the plot ahead and finish the story, and not so much on the exposition and plot-unrelated details and lengthy editing. I won't bore you with the writing jargon, just know that this means other stories could be executed slightly different, especially depending on any feedback here and as I become more familiar with writing for this fandom.**

 **It also means this story is already completely written and will be posted as quickly as I can get the edits finished on each chapter. This is my little contribution to the ocean that is RWBYs amazing fanfiction writers and stories. Judging by how much fun I had writing this, it will hardly be the last.**

 **While parts of this is beta-read, any and all atrocities are purely my own doing and not the fault of the wonderful people trying to teach me better English (valiant efforts have been made).**

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 **Beta:** Skarlashka, TPK

* * *

 **When the Story Ends**

 **Chapter 1: Frozen**

 _Flap… Flap… Screeech!_

The familiar sound was almost nostalgic, now. Ruby hadn't heard a griffon since Vacuo, where they'd laid waste to an entire flocks of them. Laying here, atop Beacon tower, watching one griffon circling around high above, was almost calming in its own way. Silver eyes trailed the flight path over and over as the beast continued to soar, never coming closer. Her red cape pooled below her, the soft hood cushioning her head. A single Grimm was nothing exciting. In fact, the entire area was crawling with Grimm, but on top of the tower, Ruby was left all on her own. It was one of the few places she could be by herself these days, what with refugees crowding every nook and cranny of Signal Academy.

Vale was still in disarray after the Fall of Beacon, and the following three years with constant Grimm attacks didn't make things better.

With a small sigh, Ruby closed her eyes. Right now, at least, nothing of the sort demanded her attention. That is to say… she turned her head to look at the gaping maw frozen in time on top of Beacon Tower. In part, it was the reason why Ruby could lay here undisturbed. Though the Grimm were drawn to the majestic dragon, they tended to stay at a certain distance. It made the ruins of Ozpin's old office the most peaceful patch of land in Vale right now.

Peaceful, yes, but sooooo _boring_. Ruby ached to go hunting with Yang or play with Zwei or something, _anything_ but this! Uncle Qrow would hoist her up on his scythe again if she showed up without even making an effort though. Oh, and Ren had said something about pancakes when she returned~

Feeling a bit rejuvenated, she sat up and faced the dragon once more.

Its frozen maw gaped harmlessly in her direction, saucer-sized eyes staring silently at a point beyond herself.

"You know, your mistress is gone," she said, cocking her head to the side, "you're the only one left."

The dragon didn't answer. It never did. She still imagined it could hear her, through the petrified surface of its body. Not really rock, but a substance no one seemed able to explain. It was like its very body had crystallized from the inside out rather than turning to dust like most Grimm did.

Ruby kept talking. "Well, I guess some of her henchmen are hanging around still, but they're not exactly a threat anymore. You wouldn't _believe_ how great Hazel is at stitching! He even fixed my cloak, see?" She tugged at the cloak near her shoulder, where a row of stitches adorned the red cloth. The cloak had taken a hit courtesy of a particularly vile nevermore back when they flew in to Vale. "He only had white thread though… oh! I bet you'd be excited to hear that Cinder's still alive too. Um… kinda." Her eyes glanced away from the dragon. "She's not… really all there anymore. But she's the one saying you're the last Ancient left in the entirety of Remnant, and I guess after everything she's been through, there's no reason to distrust her."

Her conversation partner remained silent. Ruby flopped back down on the floor.

"Soooo hoooow do we go about removing you…"

The frozen dragon wasn't exactly something they could simply move. Destroying it had proved impossible, even with Nora's mighty hammer or generous amounts of fire dust. With the added condition of avoiding as much damage to the tower as possible, the job was even harder. Ruby honestly didn't have any good ideas, it seemed like other people had far more luck coming up with clever ideas for how to unfreeze the thing.

Which was why she was stuck here, every day, trying to… something. Apparently, someone believed that the one who froze the dragon could also undo the action and get the thing killed.

Sigh.

"Skreeeeeee!" The griffon had finally overcome its primal fear and landed on the edge of the tower, screeching in Ruby's direction. She turned her head, watching it curiously.

"Skreeeeeeee!" Huge wings flapped angrily. A second later it charged – and burst into flames, crumbling beneath silvery tongues of fire until only sparkling dust remained. It vanished into thin air, leaving no trace of the griffon behind.

Ruby's lips tugged upwards, until a throb pierced her head. Her hand automatically shot up to her nose. Just a small trickle this time. She wiped the blood on the floor and grimaced, vowing to bring a tissue next time.

"Yeah, so it'd be cool if you'd let me do that thing to you," she stated towards her frozen friend. "Seems like whatever happened to _you_ is a lot more complicated though."

She eyed the beast, then stood and walked closer. Looking into its frozen eyes, poking at ancient teeth, and running her hand along the jagged spikes on its jaw. It was like touching glass. Once, she'd been overwhelmed by the sight of the monster, but since that night she'd seen far worse. It was an Ancient though. Capable of spawning more Grimm, and the only spawn point left in Remnant.

Removing it meant the end of thousands of years of conflict. If only Ruby could figure out how to do so.

 _Growl!_ Her stomach decided to break the silence.

"Pancakes!" Ruby jumped to her feet, eagerly pulling Crescent Rose from the clip on her back. Her trusty old scythe still held on, although multiple parts had been replaced since she first left Beacon. Now she swung it around, extending it into its full scythe form. With the blade hovering above the ground behind her, she grinned at the dragon.

"I'll see you tomorrow, stone face!"

A single gunshot sent her flying, and her semblance did the rest. The Grimm below only saw a blur hurtling across the edge of the tower, leaving behind a trail of rose petals.

XXX

Signal Academy was bustling with life. Not only did it act as team Good Guys™ headquarters on the island of Patch outside Vale, but it was also the main refugee encampment for Vale citizens who'd lost their homes to the Grimm.

"It feels great to be back in action!" Yang stretched her entire body.

"And I set a new record in bench presses!" Beside her, Nora proudly flexed her arms. The two of them had earned themselves the title of Signal's newest muscleheads since they'd arrived a few weeks ago. Sadly, not much action had been seen for the two warriors since landing in Patch, apart from the rare Grimm packs straying into Vale every now and then.

"Let's host an arm wrestling tournament with the gang later," Yang grinned, "I'm aching to crush someone's pride."

"I wanna crush some Grimm~" Nora sing-sang, clasping her hands behind her back and strutting ahead cheerily.

"Could always go hunting in Emerald…" Yang trailed off as her eyes caught the movement of a bullhead outside the windows. Its wooden wings slowly flapped as the airship soared across the cloudy sky from the direction of Vale. Yang's heart made a little jump of excitement.

"It's Blake!"

"Already? I thought she wouldn't be here until tomorrow?" Nora shielded her eyes as she stared out the window, squinting hard. "How do we know they're not criminals from Vale? Ooooh!" She grabbed her weapon from its holster with a sinister smile. "We better go check."

"Way ahead!" Yang ran along the hallway, familiar with Signal's layout and every shortcut after spending four years in this very building. That felt like another life, a life in which Yang the teenager had yet to see single drop of blood spill on a battlefield. So much was different now, but the school hadn't changed at all.

The bullhead had barely landed by the time they reached the docks serving Signal Academy. They waited beyond the safety line while the ship's thrusters slowed its descent and finally touched down on the landing area. Nora gripped her hammer with a grin, and Yang's grin grew broader and broader as her stomach soared. As soon as the ship stilled and the door opened with a release of air pressure, Yang stood outside waiting. A few White Fang goons spilled out first, tossing her curious glances, but Yang kept grinning until her target showed up. Before the black-haired woman even got a look at the docks around them, she was caught in a sudden hug and lifted off the ground in a twirl.

"Blake!"

"Yang?"

"You're back! You look great!" She put the girl down to give her a once-over. Her old team partner had surely matured into a beautiful woman, but Yang's scrutinizing eyes were looking for something in particular.

"Hmmm. No hickeys? Man, what's Sun even _doing_ , not marking his prize properly?"

"Oh my god, Yang!" Blake's ears lay flat against her head as she pushed the blonde away, blushing furiously. Yang only laughed at her. "Really, you're acting like it's been years."

"Well, it's been months!"

"Only a couple." Finally, Blake smiled. "It's good to see you again, Yang."

Around them, the White Fang members unloaded crates and boxes. It was still unfamiliar seeing them without masks, and the well-known white tunics with red emblems had been changed for blue and white.

"Looks like you've got 'em well trained." Yang teased.

"They're my comrades, not soldiers. We brought supplies from Menagerie and Vacuo. How are things here anyway?"

"Oh come on, I _just_ got back from the gym and I'm _starving_. Don't go all politics on us first thing! You're starting to sound like Weiss." Yang propped an arm around Blake's shoulders and pulled her along. Blake rolled her eyes but still smiled, looking back over her shoulder to address her White Fang companions.

"Ilia, I'll find out what we're doing for sleeping quarters."

The freckled woman made a quick salute. "Of course. I'll take care of the cargo."

"Thank you. Keep in touch."

At that, Blake followed Yang along.

"Welllll trained~" Yang snickered, earning herself another eye roll. Upon seeing Nora waving her whole arm, hammer and all, a small smile appeared on Blake's lips.

"Hiiiii Blake!"

"Good to see you, Nora." Blake greeted. She'd been a bit apprehensive about returning to Vale, with how many memories lingered in this place. But seeing her friends again chased all of that away.

"This is great!" Nora cheered as she joined their side heading back towards Signal. "More of us mean more people for our tournament! Oh, and for fighting the Grimm too!"

"It'll be fun to see something else than mountains of paperwork and shady business partners," Blake admitted. "Do we have a plan for the Grimm here yet?"

"Oh you know," Yang grinned, "bash as many heads in as you can."

"I take that's a no."

"Aw don't be difficult. We're just waiting for Weiss to bring in the new transmitter and for Rubes to handle the dragon thing, and we're all set to go on the big offensive."

With a feeling of the old camaraderie, the three of them entered Signal Academy through the main entrance, which opened to a big auditorium. A reception desk adorned the middle of the floor, and people of all ages lounged in the many chairs and couches spread around like an impromptu living room. Some played cards, others gathered around the TV on one of the walls to catch the latest news.

"How many refugees are here right now?" asked Blake.

"A few hundred," Yang followed Blake's gaze across the room. "Mainly from Vale, where Grimm have been continuously attacking ever since the fall of Beacon. Signal is using all the classrooms they can to accommodate them and the rest of Patch is pretty full too. Thanks to donations we've got just about enough quilts and rags for everyone to sleep comfortably. Issue is food, we have no real funding and while the Vale government is doing what they can, it's not exactly a simple situation. Grimm attacks are mainly focused on the southern agricultural district and along the border to Forever Fall in the north, forcing us to split our numbers."

"Not to mention the robberies and vagabonds prowling the streets looking for unsuspecting victims," Nora added with a fierce glare. " _Someone's_ gotta smash their heads in."

"So yeah, we've got our work cut out for us. Don't worry though, Patch is relatively safe."

At the reception desk stood a petite woman who seemed to know everything worth knowing about Signal. As Blake approached her to ask about accommodations, the woman happily told her that they were cleaning out an old classroom for them to use.

"Please feel free to freshen yourselves up in the meantime!"

"I guess I could use a shower after that long flight," Blake pondered.

"And I'm still sweating like a pig," announced Yang with a grimace. "Let's hit the showers, then grab a bite."

XXX

The cafeteria in Signal Academy was not as big as the one in Beacon, but still spacious enough to accommodate four long tables around which several refugees and other inhabitants of the school sat enjoying their rations. Blake looked around with a sense of nostalgia when a shrill cry tore through the room.

"Blaaaaake!" A flurry of rose petals followed and Blake was knocked back by an overly enthusiastic Ruby, who gave her much the same hug as Yang had. "I'm so glad you're okay!" The short-haired girl squealed, looking Blake up and down. "You _are_ okay, right? Right?"

"I'm fine, Ruby." Blake smiled. "Our stopover in Vacuo lasted a day shorter than we thought, so we even made it here with time to spare."

"Oh, so that's why you arrived early," Yang said, combing fingers through her still damp hair. "And here I thought you just couldn't wait to see me."

She received a sharp elbow in her side from the cat faunus.

"Oh, it's great here!" Ruby chirped, grabbing Blake by the wrist and pulling her along to the table where she'd been devouring a plate full of pancakes. "We've got so many people helping out, and we're making huge progress against the Grimm too! Vale will be back to normal in no time!" Already at the table was Jaune, waving cheerily at the newly arrived member of their group. The scarred stump of a missing ear was barely visible beneath his blonde mess of a hair, which had grown longer since Blake last saw him. The small ponytail actually looked quite good on him.

Nora had already vanished into the kitchen, most likely to devour all the syrup, so Blake and Yang sat opposite Jaune and Ruby. It didn't take long for the old camaraderie to return, and soon enough it felt like they'd never been apart.

"Weiss should be coming in a few days too!" Ruby kept making a mess out of her pancakes, as if she was too excited to eat properly. "We'll be back together in no time!"

"She better have brought some reinforcements," Yang said.

"Isn't Atlas in a state of emergency right now? I mean, didn't her brother fall ill too?" Blake asked, mainly directed at Yang, who shrugged.

"She didn't say much before taking off, but that's the gist of it. I suppose even Weiss has a soft spot left for her family after all."

Nora's voice rejoined them as the girl walked over, a tower of pancakes on a tray, Ren in tow. "Family's great! You're all _our_ family, so we're gonna make sure you're well fed!" Two more plates and the tower of food joined the table, and Yang smacked her hands together in eagerness. The _clang_ from her metal arm could double as a food bell.

"Now this is what I call lunch!"

"I… thought resources were dwindling." Blake eyed the food-tower, only for Nora to wag her finger in her direction.

"Nuh-uh. Not with pancakes. There's always enough pancakes."

"We actually got a shipment of flour just the other day," Ren clarified. "It's enough to keep us going for a few more months."

Soon, they all ate, chatting and laughing in each other's company like they were back at Beacon, in a time when not a single worry marred their minds. Everyone carried scars now, both physical and mental – Ren had a long one across his face, evidence of the early rebellions in Mistral.

It was hard to forget what they'd been through, but right now all those worries existed outside the pancake-scented cafeteria of Signal Academy.

"I'm… gonna burst…" Jaune moaned into the table. For once he wasn't wearing his armor, speaking volumes of how safe they felt here compared to elsewhere in the world. His sword still hung at his waist though, like everyone else it always stayed close.

Yang's content grin became a solemn smile. "It's hard to believe we've all come this far. I mean, at one point during the war I was sure the best we could hope for would be some sort of deadlock. And now look at us! Eating pancakes at Signal like it's just another day in school."

"Which we never even graduated," Blake added.

"Speak for yourself. I, for one, have a proper Signal Academy diploma hanging on the wall in my bedroom." Yang thumbed her chest proudly.

Blake smiled in mild exasperation. "Congratulations on graduating elementary school."

"Yang's right though," Ruby said, picking at the last pieces of her lunch with the fork. "We've done so much since we left Beacon. Bad guys vanquished or reformed, we've killed enough Grimm to land them on the endangered species list, Weiss is getting reconnected with her family and you and Sun are taking over the reformed White Fang from your dad." She looked at Blake, whose smile had softened in return. It was true, all the heartache and pain of the last few years finally seemed to have gotten them somewhere.

"And we're gonna be parents!" Nora added, causing everyone to sputter in shock – Ren included.

"What!?"

"Relax, relax~" Nora sang, with the biggest shit-eating grin ever. "I'm jo-king."

Ruby's expression went from shocked to troubled. "…for a second I was genuinely happy for you guys."

"Aw no worries, we'll definitely have children after this. Ren and I are planning to find a home riiiight here in Patch. Maybe Vale? Or Mistral!"

Ren, the other part of this relationship, looked like he'd melted into the table. Yang poked him with her fork, eliciting no more than a twitch.

"We're actually thinking of starting up a restaurant," Nora said, "Ren's cooking is good enough that the refugees here all praise him daily. And no, Yang, that's not _just_ because they're otherwise used to scraps and leftovers."

"I didn't say anything."

Blake smiled at the banter, admitting that she'd actually missed it. "Well, it is a sign of progress that we're able to talk about settling down."

Since reviving Ren wasn't working, Yang plunged her fork into the remains of a pancake. "I dunno, I don't feel ready for that sort of thing yet. Which is why I'm going with you guys!" She slapped Blake's shoulder, jarring the other girl. "You're gonna need some muscle to hunt down those break-offs and traitors! I know at least a couple faces I'd personally like to smash in."

"Your hunger for violence never ceases to amaze me."

Yang flashed a proud smile.

Looking like he'd rather do anything but move, Jaune weakly raised his head. "I guess there's not much else for us to do once the Grimm stops."

"Oh don't worry Jaune, I'm sure you'll find something to do. Hey, I've always pictured you working in a noodle stand, ya know? Bet you'd make some killer noodles." Yang tried to cheer him up in a very Yang-like way. It didn't work much, as Jaune simply groaned and put his head back on the table.

"So how's that going, anyway?" Blake asked, turning her attention on Ruby.

"Eh?" She looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"Duh, sis, the Grimm dragon! You know, the _only_ thing keeping the Grimm around and the last thing stopping us from getting on with our lives and all that?"

"Oh! Uh, yeah, that's, uh, we're making progress." Ruby's eyes darted all over the table, never meeting Yang or Blake's. "We, we're trying some different things, doctor Oobleck thinks we'll get it any day now."

"Hell yeah! Then you'll get to go total silver-eyed warrior on its ass!" Yang pumped her fist.

"It's… it's not that easy…"

"Pffff, _easy?_ Please, after what you did to Salem, that overgrown lizard ain't gonna be a pebble. You just blink and go _wooooooosh_ – _blitz!_ And then _kriiiiiiiiissj_ —" Yang's recount included a range of hand gestures that suggested both fireworks and crumbling rocks.

Ruby awkwardly rubbed her neck. "Yeah, but it's never been as strong after that day, and I keep getting nosebleeds…" Her voice trailed off.

Blake and Yang exchanged a glance, and the faunus shrugged. "Stress?"

"If that's the case, I know _just_ what you need!" Nora leaned forward eagerly. "A hot, steamy, bubbly bath!"

"I dunno, I'm thinking maybe a fist to the guts would do the trick." Yang's menacing grin made Ruby gulp.

"Do you guys actually have a bathhouse here?" Blake asked, immediately catching Yang's attention. Naturally, the faunus must be tired from the long trip, and Yang's body was aching too from the day's workout.

"You bet we do! Alright gang, it's decided! Today's the big steamy relaxation day! Oh, sorry, girls only," Yang added at Jaune and Ren. The only answer was Jaune's trembling thumb up.

XXX

Signal Academy had become a stronghold for the huntsmen and huntresses defending Vale, people laying their lives on the line to bring the Grimm down once and for all. In the headmaster's office, noticeably smaller than Ozpin's old office, a round table made for a strategy board containing a holographic map of Vale, Beacon and Patch. Several chess pieces stood at various points in the hologram, including a knight at Beacon tower, a king in Patch, and several pawns, bishops and rooks along the borders of Vale.

Five people had gathered around the table, sporting various degrees of serious expressions.

Qrow Branwen favoured his left leg while leaning on the table, gazing into the hologram like it would whisper him secrets. Beside him, Glynda Goodwitch tapped her riding crop to her arm, frowning menacingly at the holographic Beacon tower. Signal Academy's headmaster stood broad and tall by the end of the table, with Taiyang Xiao-Long at his side, looking troubled. Their last member was the tall and slender council member, Aspen Ash. His pale features only added to his skeletal appearance.

"Food supplies are of the utmost importance," his raspy voice accompanied a slim finger pointing to the southern border of Vale, where four pawns and a rook currently resided. "Vacuo no longer wishes to supply us as readily as they have, more interested in their own wellbeing. The board requests that you fortify the defences to secure our farms down south."

Glynda looked like she'd rather chew his ear off. "We already have our resources spread thin along the northern border. The Grimm is more active in the north. Perhaps instead of worrying about the Grimm you should look to your own government—" She cut off when Qrow put a hand on her shoulder, slowly shaking his head. Obviously displeased, she pursed her lips tightly and resumed tapping her riding crop with increased vigor.

"Ash," Qrow addressed the council member, "we have a limited number of huntsmen at our disposal and they can't be everywhere at once. As long as the Grimm keep attacking our borders we can't—"

"I don't want your excuses, _Qrow_ , I want results." Ash bit him off, waving a hand in displeasure. "This has gone on long enough! If it is as you say and the main threat is already taken care of, how is it that such a _minor inconvenience_ is still making our lives so difficult? The CCT is still down and will continue to be so until that thing has been removed! You know very well we don't have the funds _or_ resources to build a new tower, especially not when every Grimm in Remnant is drawn to that thing's presence and constantly putting our lives in danger! Our citizens live in fear every day!"

Qrow let out a deep breath. Getting angry with the council was going to get them nowhere. "I know. We know. That's why we have people working on finding a way to unfreeze it as we speak."

Ash scoffed. "And how wise is that, unfreezing such a giant monster? Do you even have a plan beyond unleashing yet another terror on the good citizens of Vale?"

"We…" Qrow paused, looked at Taiyang, who nodded. "We have a solution in mind."

Ash, having caught their exchange, rolled his eyes. "Let me guess. We're placing our faith in a little girl again, aren't we?"

"She's one of the silver-eyed—"

He threw a hand up, cutting Qrow short. "I don't care if she's a walking machine gun. Can you guarantee that the lives of our citizens are in safe hands when you put a girl in charge of such an important operation?"

The urge to grit his teeth was overwhelming, but Qrow bit down on it.

Headmaster Kong glanced down at Taiyang. "She's your girl, isn't she, Tai?" His booming voice rattled the chess pieces on the table.

"Right." Tai lowered his head. Qrow knew how reluctant he was to let Ruby sit with all this responsibility. Hell, Qrow felt the same way. After Salem, he'd have liked to let all of those kids off on a good, long vacation. As it was though, they had no choice. His only comfort was that, this was the last phase. Maybe he'd take a long vacation too. Menagerie was pretty pleasant this time of year…

"Then I assume you'll take full responsibility should it not work like you tell me." Ash said, with a sick little smile that would have been a delight to wipe away. Alas, punching a council member was generally frowned upon.

"….right." It was rare to see Tai look so small.

"This is ridiculous," Glynda muttered darkly. Headmaster Kong looked at her, then at Qrow.

"Once the dragon awakens, we cannot risk it running amok throughout Vale city. With this in mind, I ask you, Qrow, Taiyang, Glynda…" His yellow eyes hardened at them all. "Can the dragon be slain where it stands?"

Qrow straightened, meeting the headmaster's gaze directly.

"It can."

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 **Drop a line on what you think - it's the only way I can get better.**

 **Have a great day!**


	2. Chapter 2: Future

**Beta:** Skarlashka (I added a new scene tho)

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Future**

Patch might not be as futuristic as the rest of the Vale kingdom, but that didn't mean its inhabitants didn't know how to enjoy themselves. A wave of nostalgia washed over Ruby as they entered the bathhouse she and Yang had visited several times when they were younger. Even after experiencing the amazing Mistral, there was something real and fresh about being back here.

Patch really did have its own charm.

The bath was divided between men's and women's sections, which made undressing and slipping into the water plenty comfortable. Yang whined in delight as the warm water enveloped her upper body, and Ruby tried not to stare at the numerous scars riddling her sister's torso. Yang had gone through a lot to get to her mom, Raven. Even now, Ruby didn't know the specifics of their meeting, it was a sensitive topic even though the sisters had long since rekindled over what had become a source of conflict between them. Now it felt silly.

Yang was happy that she'd reconnected with her mother on some level, and all Ruby knew was that Raven was the leader of her people, and it seemed likely that as her only child, Yang would have something to do with that at some point.

Feeling a bit nauseous, Ruby sank deep into the water until her chin touched the surface. A deep breath helped gather her focus. She watched her three teammates – from different teams, true, but these days they felt like one big team all together – joke and laugh. Yang kept nudging Blake with her shoulder while looking for more ownership marks, as she put it, and the cat faunus' ears flattened against her head. It looked like they'd end up fighting until Nora jumped into the water and splashed all of them.

"Gah! Nora! This isn't a pool!" Yang complained, dripping wet even though she'd tied up her mane of blonde hair to avoid soaking it. "You jerk!" She splashed Nora back, but the pink-haired girl just cackled like a maniac.

How long had it been since they were able to relax like this? Ruby felt like her body was struggling to let loose, as if afraid it would cease to function once she let her guard down. Maybe it was the fact that they'd been going nonstop at it for the past three years now, and now that they finally had the opportunity to start breathing again, all the pent-up stress came crashing down.

Ruby stared into the water. Her distorted hands seemed even paler than usual under the surface.

"Hey, Rubes!" Yang did a breaststroke over to her side, resting her back against the edge of the bath and casually flinging an arm behind Ruby's head. "Whatcha thinking about?"

She never could hide from her big sister. No matter the obstacles they'd been through, Yang still read her like a book. Or a bar menu, maybe.

"I'm just… thinking."

"Well, duh. You _sure_ you have a brain in there?" Yang just grinned when Ruby lightly punched her shoulder. "Hey come on, what's up? You look all mopey over here, that's Blake's job!" Yang gestured to Blake, who only glared back. The faunus had tied her hair in a bun, giving her a classy adult look. Nora was floating around on her back looking blissful, naked breasts pointing into the air.

Ruby lowered her gaze and stared at the water. "I dunno…"

"Oh come on. We've been through this already. Bottling stuff up never ends well. We're your best friends, right? You can tell us, or if you want, I'm all ears later too. Just don't let your worries build up all Ruby-like, okay?" She ruffled Ruby's hair, annoying and caring as always. Ruby smacked her hand away with a huff.

"I'm not a little kid!"

"You'll always be my sweet lil' baby sister~ Aw, come on, tell big sis Yang what's going on in that little head of yours."

Despite Ruby's growth spurt the past few years, she was still half a head shorter than Yang, something her big sister made sure to remind her of at any (un)fitting moment.

"It's dumb. I just… when we finally kill the dragon, what will… happen?"

"It'll die?"

"No, I mean…" Ruby flushed at her inability to form coherent words. "Will it really be… over? What will… what will we do?"

Yang just blinked, which prompted Blake to answer. "Isn't it like Cinder said? The dragon is the last remaining Grimm spawn in Remnant, as far as we know at least. Vale will be reclaimed." She rubbed her arms with warm water, easing up what stress remained from the long day.

"Unless there's another Salem out there with her pools of Grimm-pooping mud," Yang added.

"No more Grimm will spawn, and all we have to do is hunt down whatever packs remain around the kingdoms~" Nora chirped, hands clasped on her stomach as she floated past.

"And when they're no longer gathering together by Mister Tower-Monster, most of those strays won't even be a real threat," Yang reasoned, scooting a little closer to Ruby to avoid bumping into Nora. "I'm sure the kingdom's regular defences will be more than enough to handle that small fry. Which meeeeeans," she playfully flicked some water at Ruby, " _we're_ free to do whatever the heck we want!"

"Hey!" Ruby splashed back, and soon they went into full waterfight mode, all about tied-up hair and decency forgotten in the heat of battle. Naturally, Yang emerged victorious, allowing a defeated – and soaked – Ruby to catch her breath while hanging onto the edge of the bath. Yang's hearty laugh made it impossible to stay mad though.

"Really, it's been too long since we've been able to think about anything but war. So chill out, okay? Things are finally going back to normal, whatever _that_ is."

"Yeah… yeah, you're right." Ruby flashed her a genuine smile. "Thanks, Yang. I feel better now."

"Anytime, sis."

XXX

"R-Ruby!"

"Hm?" She turned around at the entrance doors, just before leaving Signal for the evening. After their rejuvenating bath, she'd gone back to pick up some belongings and check in for any orders for the next day - getting used to this military-like life they'd lead for so long.

"Oh, hey Oscar," she smiled. He'd grown since they first met, and stood on height with Ruby now. Even so, they'd become known as 'team junior' due to being younger than everyone else, which had simultaneously entertained Nora to no end and brought them a lot of teasing from Yang.

"Um, a-are you leaving?" He stammered, glancing at the floor.

"Yeah, gotta head home to Zwei." Ruby rolled her eyes. "He may be amazing, but he still needs someone to fill his food bowl. We actually had to hide the food barrel because he climbed onto the counter and emptied it all over the kitchen floor that one time, and it was a pain to find all the little pieces, we searched for hours! Then it turned out it even got into the cabinets and we had surprise pieces of dog food in our meals for weeks! Yuck." She grimaced, he blinked, and they looked at each other.

Ruby cocked her head. "...sooooo, did you need something?"

"Uh… I... forgot."

"Oh well, that happens. If it was important you can tell me tomorrow. Oh yeah! I wanted to say, thanks for coming back with us. I know you really wanted to go to Atlas and get your aura looked at, so thanks for helping out here first!"

"Um, yeah, sure, it's what… what _he_ wanted, actually, to see Beacon again, um…" his voice faltered.

It dawned on her what he was trying to say, and she rubbed her neck. "Oh. Yeah. The dragon is… we'll get rid of it. Promise."

He fidgeted again, so Ruby flashed him a smile. "Hey if you want, you can come with me and visit Zwei! That'll take your mind off things."

"No, no, I mean, I would, but uh, Qrow would flay me if I don't do my exercises." He laughed stiffly and cradled his right arm with his left. The gesture made Ruby falter.

"Oh. Your arm is still…"

"It's getting better. It's just a bit stiff and sore still. All in all, not a big price to pay for killing Salem. Not that… not that we didn't pay enough… um..."

The silence wrapped around them uncomfortably, until Ruby shook her head and conjured another smile up. "Alright, well, I really should go before Zwei chews his way through the kitchen table or something. See you around!"

"S-See you…"

As Ruby left and the doors closed behind her, Oscar heaved a great sigh and sagged. "You gotta do better than that, you goof."

XXX

Ruby stretched contently as she sauntered down the path through the woods, hood up to shield her damp hair from the autumn air. Even now, it felt strange to be back at Patch. How long had it been since she'd left with Jaune, Ren and Nora to hunt down some vague clues about Mistral?

It felt like another life. Being back here again was surreal, both melancholic and soothing. Although they'd been offered a place to sleep at Signal, both Yang and Ruby opted instead for leaving their spots to others that needed it. After all, they already had a bed in Patch.

Her childhood home stood as silently inviting as always. Dad's flowers had long since withdrawn for the coming winter, but everything about this place was as it should be. Some things never did change. A small smile pulled on Ruby's lips, blooming into a full grown grin when a ball of fur came bursting at her from the dog house out front.

"Zwei!" She picked him up and swung him around, hugging him tight. "I bet you're starving, eh? Dad always forgets to feed you properly, no wonder you're so frail." She joked and poked his belly, to a happy bark from Zwei.

The house had a distinct familiar smell, one she hadn't managed to put her finger on. She'd never thought about it before, but noticed it the second she set foot here after returning. Dad almost wouldn't let them back out - but they had to, just as much as he still had to help out at Signal.

Ruby and Yang's shared room stood untouched, Grimm figures and all, like a ghostly reminder of the day she'd left. However, since arriving home, the room had somehow become a storage for all the equipment they'd brought with them. The floor between the beds was littered with Ruby's backpack and its various contents, her trusty sleeping bag, change of clothes, an Atlas fur coat, as well as Yang's stuff – everything lay in a heap, abandoned the moment they'd set foot inside the door.

After all, they were in no hurry to unpack. They had all the time in the world for that.

A melancholic light passed over her eyes, and Ruby pulled her cloak off, before sitting heavily on the bed. She'd planned on undressing and heading to bed, but instead, she leaned back and stared into the ceiling. Zwei stood by her feet, wagging and curiously tilting his head.

"I'm home…"

Slowly, Ruby lay sideways down on the bed, gazing wistfully at the mountain of travel gear. Then, she pulled a deep breath, and a small smile crept over her face.

Finally _home_.

XXX

It took a while before Blake realized she wasn't alone. After seeing Ilia and her other White Fang companions off into their designated sleeping area, she'd gone to find a route to the rooftop. It was more out of curiosity than anything else. During her time at Beacon, she'd never once visited Patch, and as expected, the academy's rooftop gave a great view of the town. The Academy and docks were situated at the outskirts of the city, which was far smaller than Vale. The numerous lights from windows and streetlamps put a smile to her face. People were living their peaceful lives here, despite everything wrong with the world. That alone was worth all the effort.

And the world was on its way to become a better place, after all.

A shuffling sound caught her attention, and she turned quickly, reflexes having her reach for her weapon before she recognized the smirking figure in the doorway.

"Still jumpy. Glad some things don't change."

Blake released her weapon with a small huff, both at her own hyperactive nerves and at her unexpected company.

"I thought you'd be heading back with Ruby."

Yang stuck her hands into her coat pockets and leisurely strolled over to Blake's position. Her hair glowed in the light of the setting sun.

"What, you don't want to see me?"

"Yang…" Blake's ears flattened against her head, trying to discern the blonde's hidden agenda.

"Oh I know. You and Sun are kinda obvious about your standing, you know? I just happen to be real happy to see you again and thought maybe you'd share the sentiment." Yang leaned on the railing, looking out at the town of Patch just like Blake had moments ago.

"I can't help how I feel," Blake said, defiantly looking away from her partner.

"Ouch. You know, your tongue is about as pointy as those ears. Literally too~"

Blake turned on her with a scowl, blushing furiously. All she got in return was a silly Yang grin.

"Don't worry, I'm not here to pressure you into anything. I really am just glad to see you again. Now we only need Weiss, and team RWBYs back in action once more."

A deep breath helped Blake's racing heart to calm down. For a moment, her eyes fell to the ground, before meeting Yang's once more.

"How… how are you doing?"

"Great! Nora had the right idea! I feel all loose and soft now." Yang stretched contently, revealing a bit more of that toned stomach when her shirt rode up. Blake averted her eyes.

"You know what I mean."

A strange silence settled between them, unusual for a bigmouth like Yang.

"It's… tough, at times. There's this constant burn in the back of my mind, you know? But if I don't think about it, it's alright. I just… wish it didn't have to end like that. I do miss her. A lot. At least I can say that part of her lives on right here, literally." The blonde put a hand on her chest. A solemn smile pulled at her lips. "The whole mess even sort of brought Raven and I closer. I mean, compared to a lot of the shit everyone went through, that's not so bad."

After a moment of silence, Blake turned towards the city again, leaning on the railing once more.

"I'm… I'm sure you'll find someone else. Give it time."

"Aaww look at Blakey, being all therapeutic."

"I'm _trying_ to be nice!"

Yang snickered, to Blake's surrender. The faunus threw her hands up. "I give up."

"Aw don't say that. If that's all it takes, how will you survive with me at your side for the next few months?"

The reminder of her offer still made Blake feel guilty. "You know you don't have to."

"Hey drop it, you know I want to. Besides, you and Sun have enough to deal with already. The least I can do is help you out." A quiet stretch passed between them before Yang continued, far more somber. "How's he doing, anyway? Neptune."

Blake shook her head sadly. "He's still a dork. Becoming all handicapped hasn't stopped him from flirting with anyone he meets. It's just… it's bad, Yang. He's still paralyzed from the waist down, and prosthetics just isn't an option. The surgery would kill him."

Yang glanced own at her own metal arm, lightly clenching her fist. The grim reminder of war still hung over their heads. While the end was within sight, it hadn't come without sacrifices. More friends and allies than they wanted to count had suffered greatly. In retrospect, those who could walk away with a few scars and new limbs were the lucky ones.

"It's surreal," she said.

"Yeah," Blake agreed.

The two stood there in silence, watching the world go on.

* * *

 **Shipping is serious business. I'm a simple woman, I ship anything that is sexy, cute or just hot as hell. And the most interesting part of a romance subplot or fullblown story is adding conflicting interests and play around with chemistry and magnetism and mumbo-jumbo like that.**

 **If you see something you expect to be a romantic relationship in this story, remember that humans are complicated creatures, as are our main characters here. Because they're human.** **Except Blake.**

 **Blake is a faunus.**

 **Also, this is set a couple years into the future. Shit has gone down, things have changed and developed. For this story I didn't want to remove our girls completely from their "in-canon" selves as we know them right now however, so there's that.**

 **This chapter was a... taste test. I'm trying to get into these character's heads and figure out how they tick. Things will pick up quickly, so stay tuned for that.**


	3. Chapter 3: Field Trip

**Beta:** Skarlashka, GreatSnapper

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Field Trip**

Ever since the fall of Beacon, Ruby's dreams were pitch black. Sometimes, they sported floating lights and voices of friends and allies from memories she'd rather forget. Other times, nothing but strange inaudible whispers filled the darkness, making the hairs on her neck stand on end.

Tonight was one of those, a single black stretch of eternity into nothing. And whispers, voices she knew she'd heard before, but couldn't make out.

" _Dear child…"_

A soft voice brushed by her ear and cold fingers ran down her arms. She would have tried to escape, but she couldn't outrun what was happening inside her own head.

" _Such a pity your fate intertwined with that man. Do you even know what it is you fight? Who I am?"_

No matter how many whispers filled the void, one gentle voice still stood out among the rest. No face accompanied it, but she didn't need one to know who was speaking. That voice, and that face, had been seared into her eyes ever since their first meeting.

 _Salem…_

As if she'd flipped a switch, the darkness changed. . Blood red slits bloomed within the blackness, countless, burning, hungry, but none of them approached; they merely stayed at the edge of the darkness. Waiting.

Ruby grimaced in a mixture of fear and anger.

"Where are you!?" Her voice echoed into the darkness. Instead of an answer, something slid across her torso, around her arms and neck, squeezing. She tried to move, but she might as well have been frozen in place. Paralyzed with fear, and held in place by ropes the color of oil. Beads of sweat gathered on her brow and she focused on breathing, telling herself to calm down. _I killed her, she's gone, it's over, I—_

" _Make no mistake, child. Even if you do kill me here, I am not something that will cease to exist just because you separate my head from my body. My will is what guided you here, and by my will shall our meeting conclude. You humans are… interesting with the way you cling to simple ideas. Great warriors meet great foes and with great effort they pull through, victorious. Such a fairy tale ending is only a foolish dream."_

"L-Leave me alone!" Terrified fury exploded through her body, but any movement only served to tighten the hold on her, until her arms threatened to tear off and not a single gasp of air reached her lungs. She strained uselessly against the ropes, white spots dancing in front of her eyes.

"L-Let—"

" _Hush."_ A cold finger touched her lips. _"Rest, child."_

Slowly, the darkness grew denser, until Ruby's eyes slipped closed and a final breath of air expelled from her constricted lungs.

With a violent gasp, she jolted out of sleep as if someone had stabbed her, and immediately shrieked in fear as she overbalanced and fell off the edge of the bed. She crashed to the floor, promptly sending Yang's backpack down onto her.

"Gaaah, stupid beeeeed."

Putting a hand to her head, she slowly sat up between piles of clothes. She was entirely drenched in sweat and realized she'd still been wearing her clothes and boots when she fell asleep. Lousy habits made for lousy sleep, dad used to say when they were little and did their damndest to escape as many evening chores as possible. Following that logic, she could only blame herself for the nightmares.

Zwei's barking downstairs quickly chased the lingering images away. If he was this giddy, it could only mean dad was home, and by the smell of it, he was dishing up breakfast!

Fighting back the unpleasant dream and conjuring a big smile, Ruby bounced out of the room.

"Hey daaaad!"

"Oh, Ruby!" His face appeared near the bottom of the stairs, ladle in hand and apron in place. It had been mom's, which explained why it barely fit his larger frame, but even so he refused to part with it, which Ruby found endearing. "Breakfast in a few. You better get ready, I heard Oobleck has some plans for you guys today."

"Sure!"

"Come on sis, you're gonna miss out on dad's omelettes!"

Yang was here too! That made Ruby's heart soar several feet more. A quick trip to the bathroom was all she needed before dashing downstairs and into the kitchen in a flurry of rose petals. Dad, Yang and Blake all sat around the table, with a large bowl of scrambled eggs, fresh vegetables and bread in front of them.

"Pickles!" Ruby cheered. "Dad, you remembered!"

"'Course I did, I'd never forget my baby girl's tastes."

"I bet it's the same jar as last time too," Yang snickered, earning herself a playful glare from Taiyang. Ruby didn't mind, humming cheerfully as she unscrewed the lid and popped one of them into her mouth.

"Some things are just impossible to come by while travelling," she sighed contently.

"Yuuup, dad's pickles might just be one of those things," Yang winked at Taiyang, who immediately joined in.

"I'd prefer it if you didn't talk about my pickles in front of Ruby, Yang."

"Oh she can handle it, right Blake?"

Their black-haired teammate focused on the bread she'd begun nibbling on. "…Ruby has become quite the young woman. I'm sure pickles are nothing to her."

"Guys!" Ruby smacked her hands into the table. "You're doing that thing again!"

"What thing?" Yang innocently scooped a spoonful of omelette onto her plate.

"The secret codename thingy! When are you going to include me in your secret language?"

"When you're older, Ruby."

"Oh come on, I'm eighteen! Dad!?"

But Taiyang had no intention of contradicting his oldest daughter. "She's right, Ruby. You are the last hope of this family. If your innocence breaks, we'll all be a bunch of good-for-nothing's."

Ruby folded her arms. "It broke a long time ago, thank you very much."

Yang guffawed and choked on her food while Blake snorted into her tea.

"Ruby, you can't!" Yang heaved for air, gripping the table like she'd fall over without it. "You can't say things like that!"

"What? It's true!"

"It's even worse because you don't mean it the way you make it sound!"

Her younger sister cocked her head in confusion, while Taiyang laughed and ruffled her hair. "Don't mind her, Rubes. Yang's just teasing."

"Well, it's not funny!" Ruby protested.

Yang's devious grin was back. "You're just too cute when you're flustered, Ruby! No way we're gonna include you in anything!"

"Grrrrr! It's not fair! Yang, you were still peeing your bed when you guys started doing this!"

"How dare you!"

Between Yang and Taiyang's continued teasing of the youngest sister, Blake couldn't help but laugh. A few months ago, everyone had been tired and wary of fighting Grimm, constantly on the move to track down packs and alphas and Elders. It was just cruel fate that they didn't even get a week's rest between Salem's defeat and the first reports of rampaging Grimm attacking human settlements. Now, a year later, so many things had changed. Yang finally had her pesky laugh and unbearable teasing back. And Ruby, who'd had her own share of ghosts to conquer, had been there to pull them through all along.

Breakfast concluded without any serious injuries, no thanks to Yang. Just before they went to leave for Signal, Taiyang stopped them in the hallway.

"Listen, uh…" He rubbed his neck with one hand, seemingly struggling with finding words.

"Dad?" Ruby looked up after fastening the clasp on her cloak – beaten and frayed, but still hers – while Yang and Blake paused by the door.

He opened his mouth, closed it, raised his hands helplessly, and finally let out a deep sigh.

"I'm just… glad to have you two back. Blake too. And I know we're asking a lot of you all, but please just… just be careful, okay? I wouldn't want to lose any of you now that you're finally home."

Ruby's eyes glossed over, and she attacked Taiyang in a fierce hug.

"I'm glad to be home too, dad."

Yang joined them, squeezing them both as hard as she could. "Aww guys, this is so heartwarming! Hey Blake, come on, you're family too!"

"I'm good," Blake insisted, smiling all the same.

"Yang, Yang I can't breeeeeeeathe!"

They said goodbye to Taiyang, and a very cheerful Ruby lead the way down the path towards the city. Birds chirped in the trees around them, leaves rustling in the chilly winds.

"It'll be winter again soon," Blake said. It felt strange to make such a mundane observation.

"Speaking of winter, when's our resident ice queen scheduled for arrival?" Yang asked.

"Tomorrow!" Ruby cheered, turning around to face them while she kept walking backwards. "I can't wait for Weiss to come~ The gang'll be all together again!" Her hood was up, somehow removing a few years from her features. It couldn't hide the scar above her eye though, a faint line which Blake knew she'd gotten in a bout with the White Fang. A fight which Blake had dragged them into. They'd insisted on helping, even when the problems were her own. They always did. As a result, Ruby had gotten hurt, Weiss had faced the killers which contributed to her difficult childhood, and Yang had finally gotten closure on a nightmare that had plagued her since the fall of Beacon.

Adam was gone, and thanks to that, the White Fang was in the process of transforming. Changing back into a peaceful organization working to better the faunus' situation all over Remnant.

"Whatcha thinking about, Blake?" Yang leaned in closer.

"Just… reminiscing."

"What are you, eighty years old?"

"Shut up. I was just thinking how lucky I am to have a team like you guys. Friends." The word made her blush. "And I am so grateful for all that you've done to help me get this far."

"Of course!" Ruby quipped, smiling brightly. "That's what friends do!"

"We'd stick up for you on any bad day!" Yang flexed an arm. "Just point and we'll pummel!"

Blake smiled. It was the first time in a long while that she could honestly say she felt content. And now, it was her turn to return the favor. It was time to take Beacon back.

XXX

"Alright children, buckle up!" Doctor Oobleck had to yell above the sound of the engine. One hand held his signature safari hat in place, while his coat flapped in the drafts of their descent. It had the same coffee stains as the last time they'd seen it.

"Today marks an important day in field exploration and I'd like you all to pay attention to the concentration of Grimm and how they move around us. Likely, this will help us learn something about their intentions and what we can expect once we move ahead with our main objective, namely setting up the new transmitter and getting the CCT up and running once more."

History expert may have been his main occupation, but that didn't stop Oobleck from picking up a few other hobbies over the years. In particular, he and professor Port had spent a majority of their time in Vale studying the frozen dragon – from afar, mostly. He'd expressed his utmost interest in the opportunity to see it up close, apparently hoping it would shed some light on the dragon's exact condition and how to reverse it. So far, the experiments Ruby had helped him perform hadn't lead them anywhere, just as Ruby's own visits to the dragon had been fruitless.

"Why don't we fly closer to the tower?" Blake asked as the bullhead took them towards Beacon's docks.

"Why, there are far too many Grimm circling the tower for us to make a safe descent, not to mention the danger we put ourselves in by not clearing a path back out," Oobleck rapidly fired back.

Blake gazed at the Beacon grounds, feeling a pang of worry at the sheer number of Grimm present. Compared to the fall of Beacon three years ago, it was nothing more than a Grimm breeding ground, guarded by alphas and goliaths older than Vale itself.

"There are a lot more than I remember…"

Yang put a hand on her shoulder. "They're all bunching up around that stonehead. I bet if we bombed them all there'd be no Grimm left in all of Vale."

"Dear girl, I do hope you remember that the tower is not to be harmed, it is the one prime location to set up the transmitter that miss Schnee is bringing and we will need to tread carefully. Some of these Grimm are big enough to tear the tower down by themselves should we cause a frenzy."

"Booooring."

The bullhead hovered above the docks, allowing the passengers to jump off. With a cheerful wave at her two teammates, Ruby went first, using the recoil of her gun to somersault into a safe landing. Blake almost expected the Grimm to charge heedlessly into battle, but despite their obvious advantage in numbers, the Grimm that had watched the bullhead approach did not come closer.

Yang jumped after her sister, rolling across the ground and dropping into a battle stance beside their team leader while her single Ember Celica activated. Shortly after, Blake and Oobleck joined them, the latter carrying a backpack with their supplies for the trip.

"This is just like being back in school!" Yang grinned.

"Then let's get a passing grade," Ruby chirped.

"You know Weiss wouldn't be happy with anything but a perfect score."

"What now?" Blake asked, eyeing the Grimm around them warily. Ursa and beowolves mainly surrounded them here, but their sheer size, along with the bone plating and spikes, suggested these were ancient. And beyond them, true monsters of terror lay awaiting. They'd fought their share of powerful Grimm over the years, but to take on hundreds upon hundreds of them all at once was not very tempting.

"We move in. Ready, gang?" Ruby looked back at them with a grin. As if she'd made a particularly rude taunt, a giant ursa burst out of the ranks and charged ahead the moment she turned away.

Blake blitzed forward with the help of her semblance, intercepting the Grimm's path and jumping above it using another shadow clone. Her cleaver struck its neck and with an explosion of fire dust the bone guard shattered before Gambol Shroud decapitated the Grimm. Blake stood, weapon ready, but no more Grimm attacked.

Were they being tested?

"Hey Ruby, pay more attention," Yang chastised, to which the younger girl sheepishly rubbed her neck.

"Sorry. Thanks Blake!"

"Are we sure this is safe?" Blake asked, as Ruby, Yang and Oobleck walked past her.

"Don't worry," Yang said, nonchalantly folding her hands behind her head. "I know it's been awhile since you've fought with us, but I promise we'll be fine."

"Well, I suppose we have enough firepower." Blake fell into step beside Yang.

"True. But we won't be needing that."

"What?"

Blake had seen both Yang and Ruby in action, of course. Maybe she expected them to easily kill their path clean towards the old CCT tower, but true to Yang's words, no such thing was necessary. In fact, there was no need to fight at all. Even when they walked amongst countless soulless monsters, not a single one tried to attack them again. Instead, they kept their distance, as if an invisible sphere surrounded them and prevented the Grimm from coming closer.

"They're… avoiding us."

"Not _us_." Yang stared ahead, and Blake followed her gaze to the cloaked redhead skipping along beside Oobleck.

Right. The bane of existence of all Grimm. She'd heard the tale, of course, and seen it in action as well, even if she hadn't been quite as active in the Grimm hunts this past year. It seemed that these Grimm had enough presence of mind to recognize a lost fight before it started.

The tower of Beacon rose in front of them, and the closer they approached, the denser the Grimm population became. Ursa, beowolves, and creeps intermingled with elder Grimm such as goliaths, deathstalkers and countless more for which Blake knew no name. A possessed, giant pile of bricks and roof tiles wandered around the area, and above them, nevermores and griffons circled the sky, ranging in size from the regular pigeon to monsters the size of Ironwood's flagship.

The docks, the courtyard, their old dorm building, Beacon's grand entrance doors, they passed it all while feeling the gaze of thousands of Grimm bore into them.

"How can there be so many?" Blake eyed a group of nevermores snapping at a few beringels perched on the ruined roof of Beacon's food court. Even when they didn't attack, being watched like they were made the hairs on her arms rise. Rather than a school for huntsmen and huntresses, it felt like they were walking through a wasteland of death and decay. Exactly how many people had lost their lives here?

"Doctor Oobleck thinks the Grimm might have a way to communicate across continents," Yang said, following a pace behind Ruby and the doctor. "Most likely, they all know Salem's gone, and they know they're hunted by every huntsman all over Remnant. That's why they gather here, to try and protect the last spawn. Normally they'd tear us apart at the first opportunity, which is why nobody has been able to get close."

"And here we are, walking through it like a stroll in the park?" Blake's ears flattened with worry.

"Honestly?" Yang's voice took on a strange tone. The blonde was staring straight ahead at her sister's back, and… was that fear in her eyes? "…it scares the crap out of me."

The tour of their old school took them closer and closer to the broken CCT, and suddenly the area changed. Like a flashback to Salem's nightmare-inducing domain, they were faced with a pool of black ooze, covering much of the ground beside the tower.

"Woah, I didn't even notice this before," Ruby said, wide-eyed.

"Don't step into it," Oobleck said, and guided them around the edge. The bubbling pool spread outward with fingers like tentacles gripping for more ground. They avoided it completely and reached the base of the tower without trouble.

"Everyone good?" Ruby asked once they stopped, just feet from the wall. Blake raised her eyes to look up the side of the tower, feeling a thousand predators stare at her back.

"So I assume we're going up."

"Yep!"

She was tempted to ask how, but none of this group's members would have trouble traversing the thing. Sure, it'd have been easier with say, Weiss' glyphs, but in the girl's absence they'd have to make do.

"Just be careful, I can't protect you while flying—"

"Watch out!" Blake called out, just as something huge and black splattered into the pool beside them and sent black goo squirting to the ground feet away from doctor Oobleck. He jumped aside, holding his hat and swinging his thermos around. The pool bubbled and hissed and a beowolf climbed out towards them, only to be instantly incinerated.

"Interesting. It seems like the dragon is still spawning."

"It wasn't when I visited yesterday!" Ruby said, wide-eyed. More black dots rained down into the pool, each spawning more newborn Grimm. Yang and Blake disposed of them quickly.

"What a pain," Yang huffed, rubbing her gloved metal fist. "The young ones don't know better than to follow their instincts. You'd think they'd take a hint from their elder kind and stay the fuck away."

"Well, they _are_ newborn," Blake said, looking up at the frozen form of the dragon high above them. The black pool was situated directly beneath it.

"Ah yes yes, peculiar, peculiar indeed." Oobleck was squatting beside the pool, but raised his head as well. "We need to take a better look." He stood, extending his weapon, and grabbed his hat. "Miss Rose?"

"On it!" Ruby bounced over, and wrapped her arms under Oobleck's knees and shoulders. Then she looked over at Yang and Blake. "See you at the top, girls!"

The two of them burst into a blur of rose petals which shot up the side of the tower at breakneck speeds.

"This is it." Yang smacked her fists together with a menacing _clang_. "Want a lift, Blakey?"

Blake rolled her eyes; seemed to do that a lot, lately. She seemed to attract dolts wherever she went. "Thank you, I'm fine."

"Whatever you say, just make sure you get a move on. You and I are way too tasty looking for those Grimm!"

Yang's hands burst into flames. With a fierce roar the blonde brawler ran at the tower, using the fire as propellant to gain more speed. It looked like she planned to tear the entire thing down, but the second her boot touched the wall, Yang simply charged upwards. The roar of fire grew into an outright inferno which blasted the blonde into the air, allowing her to run up the side of the tower like she weighed nothing.

Blake used her own semblance to start the climb. She jumped, leaving behind a range of shadows which pushed at her feet and launched her into the air. Blake twirled in midair, producing another clone who helped throw her even higher.

The rush of air filled her ears until the screech of a nevermore broke through. One of the large birds that had been sweeping the sky had finally decided to attack. Sharp talons reached for her, but grasped uselessly at another clone as Blake used her semblance to escape upwards. The nevermore screeched and flapped furiously with its wings, turning its head to find her again – only to find a blast of fire eating its face.

"Barbequeeee time!" Yang gleefully yelled as she launched fireball after explosive fireball at the nevermore's head, slamming it towards the ground in a pool of flames. The screeches were drowned in raging crackles and embers until its body finally gave in and disintegrated under the continuous barrage.

Well on top, Blake landed on her feet and brushed off her coat. Behind her, a roar of fire launched Yang high into the air. Her partner whooped cheerfully before landing on a piece of rubble and rolling to her feet.

"Well, that was easy."

"And unnecessary," Blake stated. "You almost burned my hair off."

"Am I too hot for you, kitty?"

Blake shoved her aside with a venomous glare. Oobleck and Ruby were already in place by the dragon, but Blake stopped several paces away, just staring at the giant statue. She'd only seen it from afar, but this close, the sheer size of the Grimm dragon was overwhelming. Its open maw revealed rows of teeth all larger than a human hand, and each eye was easily big enough to use as a bowling ball. Once more, memories of that gruesome day made her stomach coil.

At Oobleck's side, Ruby stared wide-eyed at the dragon, more specifically at the black ooze seeping from its stone-like skin. Small dots of ooze grew and gathered, slipping down the side of its body until it fell to the earth below like a water drop.

"It really is spawning!"

"Does that mean it's waking up?" Yang asked, coming up to Ruby's side. Her gaze narrowed at the monster. "Let's bust it open!" She pulled her fists up, eyes bursting into flames.

"Wait, Yang!"

"DIEEEEEEEE!" Yang exploded forward in a burst of fire. Her metal fist roared with flames and crackled with lightning as she pulled it back for an uppercut.

 _CRACK! BOOOOOM!_

Her fist slammed up into the dragon's jaw and an explosion of fire and lightning engulfed the dragon's head in a storm which spun into the air and impaled one of the griffons. Ruby winced as the shock wave slammed into them, tower creaking dangerously beneath their feet. She barely managed to embed Crescent Rose into the floor before she was thrown off her feet.

Yang's grin soon turned into a frown as the flames vanished, revealing a perfectly intact dragon. There wasn't even a scratch on the jaw where she'd struck.

"What the hell?" She pulled back, brows knitted in disappointment, eyes back to their normal lilac.

"Yaaaang," Ruby whined, still holding onto Crescent Rose, "at least warn us!"

Blake had wrapped Gambol Shroud's ribbon around the remains of a wall and was holding a slightly dishevelled doctor Oobleck.

"Yes yes, miss Xiao Long, please keep in mind that the tower is not to be damaged in any way!"

"Well sheesh, sis, what did you _do_ to this thing?"

Ruby helplessly shrugged. "I don't know? I've never done anything like it again and I have no idea how to reverse it."

"Which is why we're here to examine it!" Doctor Oobleck stated, brushing pieces of debris off his coat. "Miss Rose's abilities were what froze it in the first place, but so far no reaction has been recorded to the presence of its nemesis, nor any effect from miss Rose's silver eyes. This is the first sign something's happening."

"Why can't we just let it be?" Blake asked, coming to a stop beside Yang. "If it keeps pulling more Grimm to it, can't we just focus on killing those?"

"Far too dangerous," Oobleck said, "the Grimm are concentrated in such numbers here that even you girls would have trouble facing them all off. Besides we cannot risk the dragon eventually waking on its on and escaping the premises to continue spawning Grimm elsewhere. Also, the tower. Manpower and time are precious resources and we have neither. We need to reclaim the tower as it stands."

"It _would_ be nice to have the CCT back," Ruby noted, glancing at the surface they were standing on. Her expression grew solemn in remembrance of the events that had led to the dragon freezing in the first place.

"Miss Rose." Oobleck pulled her attention.

"Yes?"

"What do you make of this development?" He was staring at a growing drop of black ooze, leaning dangerously over the edge to get a proper look.

"Uh, well, it – it looks like the shell is still undamaged, so I guess the ooze is somehow penetrating the rock from within?"

"That is all fair and well, but this discovery lends strength to one theory which has been widely discussed countless times."

The three of them exchanged glances.

"Which is…?" Yang asked.

His glasses glinted in their direction. "The beast is still alive. Still alive, and still doing its job. Ladies, it has become even more important than before that we end this quickly."

"How do we even do that if it's immune to everything we throw at it?" Blake asked.

He pulled out his scroll. "By studying. Learning. Please, keep the perimeter clean while I work." He turned and snapped a picture of the ooze before it detached and fell to the ground, adding to the growing spawn pool below.

The top of Beacon tower wasn't huge. Besides it was all in ruins, making for an unexciting place to hang out. There wasn't much to guard against either, given the wide berth all the Grimm gave it. While Oobleck kept examining the dragon inch by inch with scroll, tools and stethoscope, Yang challenged Blake and Ruby to see who could shoot down the most Grimm from afar. Blake passed, and settled down with a book she pulled from her coat, but Ruby gladly accepted.

"And no cheating!"

"Same goes to you!"

Soon enough their gunfire rang through the silence. Ruby's precise sniper shots through Grimm eyes turned out far more effective than Yang's explosive rounds or bursts of fire, but that didn't stop them from having a fiercely competitive count going on.

Not long after they'd started, Blake raised her eyes and frowned at the horizon.

"…ribbons."

Yang cheered as the nevermore she'd been blasting fell and disintegrated in midair. "Whatcha saying, Blake?"

"There's a ship with ribbons passing over Vale."

"Huh."

"It's Weiss!" Ruby squealed. "Ohmygosh I can't believe she's coming already! We gotta go, we gotta greet her!" She was just about jumping up and down in excitement.

"Relax, sis." Yang grabbed the hood on her cape before she could bolt off. "We're at work right now, and if you leave I'm sure this place'll be a bit _too_ exciting."

Ruby sighed dejectedly, but the slump of her shoulders told Yang she wasn't about to run.

"It's just been so long since I've seen you guys. You've all been so busy with your organizations and companies and—"

"Hey, I've been here."

"I know _you've_ been around, but that's not the _same_."

Yang gasped in mock hurt, before laughing and slapping Ruby on the back so she stumbled. "You jerk! It's not like she'll suddenly vanish, Rubes. I'm sure our ice queen has enough to think about without us crowding her space right off the bat."

Ruby pulled a deep breath, but then smiled up at her sister. "She'd be so mad if we knocked over her suitcases again."

"Just don't explode in her face and I'm sure it'll be fine," Blake said, earning herself one of Ruby's giggles.

* * *

 **Thank you for the feedback so far, I'm amazed how many seem to like this right off the bat! A small side note, I'm going away on vacation for a week starting today, so I can't promise any updates while I'm gone. You never know though!**

 **Have a great day!**


	4. Chapter 4: Reunion

**Beta:** Skarlashka

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Reunion**

Weiss _did_ have a lot of things to think about, but what she needed most of all was steady ground. Ever since their ship had been caught up in a fight with a group of griffons just outside Vale, she'd been close to earning herself the female equivalent of Jaune's old nickname. While the would-be birth of Vomit Girl was precariously avoided and the griffons defeated, arriving at Patch's only landing docks didn't make her stomach feel any less upset.

Here she was, back in Vale, however surreal that was.

Even though she'd dreaded going back to Atlas, the last few months had seemed to fly by. At least she knew what to expect there, and had enough work cut out for her to avoid thinking too much. But here, back in Vale for the first time in _years_ , a lot of memories lined up. Not all of them were pleasant.

Her only companions on the airship had been the crew, whom were already at work tending to the aircraft and unloading the precious cargo by the time Weiss strode off, suitcase in hand. In the other hand she carried her scroll, thumbing through a myriad of notes she'd taken while attending countless SDC board meetings and meetings with the Atlas council.

A sigh left her lips. Thoughts for another day. Now, focus!

"Can I trust you to take care of the cargo?" She asked the officer of the crew she'd travelled with. He stood straight and saluted.

"Yes ma'am! Please rest up, you fought brilliantly in our defense, and we'll take care of the rest here."

Sometimes, she really appreciated the strict training Ironwood put his men through. Now if only they could have delivered the transmitter and be done with it, that would be wonderful. Sadly, her presence was required to assist with the actual setup of the thing, simply in the form of monster extermination. They could not risk losing it now, it wasn't like Atlas had an abundance of resources to build a new one these days.

Patch was tiny compared to Vale or Atlas, but still a city nonetheless. Weiss' first point on the agenda was finding a hotel and booking herself a room. Sleeping one more night on the aircraft was out of the question. From Ruby's letter she'd learned that there would be a bed – or sleeping spot, at the very least – for her at Signal, but sleeping on the floor with a bunch of strangers like they were back to Beacon initiation day didn't really sound tempting either. Besides, given the number of refugees, they probably needed all the space they could get.

Sadly, someone else had a similar idea.

"Every single room?" Weiss still couldn't believe it. "Even the suites?"

"I'm sorry ma'am." The hotel clerk looked like she'd already gotten a mouthful or two from other rejected customers. "Government has rented most of the rooms, and the rest is boarded by Vale citizens."

"What the – why would anyone go to _Patch_ for vacation?"

The clerk was reddening under Weiss' fierceness. "Um, there's an evacuation zone within the breached northern defences in Vale, but some families just within the safe zone preferred to move out until things are back under control."

Well. Frustrating as it was, she couldn't very well demand people to go back to their houses if they felt unsafe. It was just an unplanned setback. Without the CCT, there was no way to call ahead and check for availability.

"Are there any other hotels in this town?"

"Two, ma'am, but I believe they're in the same situation."

"Well, great." Weiss sighed.

"I'm so sorry…" The girl was actually cowering, trying to avoid Weiss' eyes without seeming rude. Maybe she _was_ being a bit pointy with the girl, this was hardly her fault.

"It's fine." Weiss picked up her suitcase and forced a smile onto her face. "Thank you for your help."

She left the building and hailed a cab just outside. There really was no more reason to linger about.

"Signal Academy, please."

XXX

A tremor ran through the tower.

"What was that?"

Ruby, Blake and Oobleck all stopped as Yang spoke up.

Oobleck had just been poking the dragon's ear with a pick, trying to force his way into the ear.

Ruby cocked her head. "Grimm?"

 _Craaaaaaak!_

"It sounds like… splintering stone," Blake said, causing everyone to spin to the frozen monster. Ruby's eyes went wide, Yang raised her fists, and Oobleck put a hand on his hat.

"By the gods…"

XXX

The cab swung into a courtyard booming with people and goods. Several White Fang members were carrying crates inside what Weiss assumed to be a storage. So Blake had already arrived.

Feeling a bit better upon thinking about her friends, Weiss set off with her suitcase in hand to find some familiar faces. Wandering across Signal's courtyard sent an uneasy tingle through her body, it was too similar to Beacont. Fortunately, she didn't have to wander for long.

"Oh, Miss Schnee!" The receptionist behind the large desk in the entrance hall looked relieved to see her. "It's an honor to have you here!"

"I'm sure," Weiss sighed. "I don't suppose you know where my teammates are at?"

Before the receptionist could answer, another voice cut in. "They're visiting Beacon tower with doctor Oobleck." Heels clicking ominously, Glynda looked as strict as ever. But tired, Weiss noted, like so many others she'd spent years fighting for freedom.

Weiss bowed her head. "Professor Goodwitch. It's a pleasure to see you again."

"Likewise, miss Schnee."

"Please, it's just Weiss."

Glynda folded her arms, riding crop tapping against her arm. "I assume you're tired after your trip, but would you care to join us for a short while?"

Actually, she was dead on her feet, but with no bed to collapse onto there wasn't much she could do.

"Of course."

XXX

Nobody wanted to believe it, or rather, nobody understood _how_ it had happened. Maybe the fact that it had begun spawning should have been hint enough. Perhaps the presence of its captor had finally roused it. Or the fact that in the span of very little time, the dragon had received more stimuli than it had during the last three years, actually paid off.

In any case, it was really happening.

The dragon was waking up.

"Yang!" Ruby yelled as a massive claw struck her sister, throwing her off the side of the tower. The dragon shook its body free of the remaining pieces of solidified shell and shrieked ear-deafeningly. Blake grimaced as her ears rang like a siren, clenching an eye shut at the pain. Not far from her, Ruby cringed and slapped a hand to her ear, the other holding Crescent Rose.

Doctor Oobleck advanced before any of them could. His blasts of fire engulfed the monster, causing it to shriek again and snap its enormous wings out.

"Ruby!" He yelled at the youngest fighter, and Ruby grabbed her weapon with both hands. Swinging her scythe around, she faced the dragon - and froze up. Her eyes wide, breaths inhaled and expelled rapidly, the grip on Crescent Rose tightened till her fingers stung.

 _This is it._

It was really here, they were really here, but it was so quick and unexpected, she hadn't had time to prepare herself mentally, there was no time and dammit, get a grip! And yet, she couldn't move.

In a burst of fire and wind, Yang shot up above the dragon, whooping cheerfully. She twisted in mid-air above the beast, eyes bursting into flames. With the force of a meteor, her fist connected with the dragon's head, sending it smashing into the floor with a dull blast. The shockwave washed over them like a hot summer wind and the entire tower shook.

The dragon shrieked and flapped its wings, pulling its head back up. Massive back leg claws began to let go of the structure they had been embedded into for the past three years.

"We can't let it escape!" Oobleck shouted, jumping over the massive tail as it swept towards them across the tower. Blake jumped back just in time to leave a icy frozen afterimage in her stead. The dragon's tail smashed it to pieces. There was no help freezing it in place with mere ice.

"Hyaaa!" Yang crashed onto the beast's back and struck her fists together, creating a burst of lightning in her hands. With a roar the blonde raised her hands, and the lightning grew to surround her in an impromptu thunderstorm. Flash after flash struck the beast leaving singe marks on its skin, but it didn't seem phased by the attack. The dragon snapped at Yang with its jaws, but the brawler punched back, shattering one of its massive teeth and snapping its head away.

"Yeaaaah!"

The dragon gathered its breath and spewed black fire in Yang's direction. She jumped back, latching onto one of the spikes on its back for cover, and began bombarding one of its wing joints with aggressive bursts of fire and lightning. The dragon flapped its massive wings again, knocking the three on the ground over with the blast of air, and finally rose into the air.

"No!" Blake fired Gambol Shroud into the air, wrapping the ribbon around the nearest wing joint like a grounding anchor. Several shadow images materialized and helped pull the beast down, momentarily pulling it off balance.

"It's too strong!" Blake yelled.

Yang's assault on the beast's wing joint finally paid off, causing the beast to lurch to one side. Then the massive tail crashed into her from above and forced her off its back. It was nowhere near defeated - they could only chip away at the beast's strength, and beneath their feet, the tower trembled.

"Ruby!" Yang called.

 _Get a grip, get a grip, get a grip!_ _This is for everyone's future!_ Ruby clenched her teeth and took a deep steadying breath, blocking out everything else as she focused on the Grimm in front of her. The last of Salem's spawners, the last obstacle stopping Vale and everyone from going back to their old lives and move forward. Ruby swung Crescent Rose around and poised it behind her.

"I. Hate yoooooou!"

In a blur of red Ruby exploded forward. She crashed into the dragon's chest and Crescent Rose embedded itself beneath the bony chest plates. Ruby pulled the trigger and the chest of the Grimm tore open in a burst of splintering bone!

"Yeaaaah!" Yang used her powers to blast herself away from the immediate area, landing beside Blake before the two of them opened fire at the dragon from a distance, joined by Oobleck shortly after. The beast screamed and roared, snapping at the cloaked assailant that had just torn its chest open. On such a massive beast it only seemed like a scratch, and nowhere near enough to kill it.

Ruby kicked off from the beast's chest and landed on the tower, skidding back. Her head rang and her eyes saw nothing but the fight, completely focused on what she had to do. The current magazine clattered to the floor and a new one reloaded, this one with gravity rounds. She'd done the same move hundreds of times, the motion was as natural as breathing at this point.

Swinging Crescent Rose back again, she tilted the blade into its war scythe mode. She gathered every ounce of strength into her legs and, with the pull of the trigger, burst forward in a flurry of rose petals, leaving a sonic boom in her wake. The gravity rounds sent her into a violent spin with Crescent Rose's blade like the tip of a massive drill. She slammed into the dragon's open chest wound, instantly skewering it with Crescent Rose and penetrating deep into the Grimm's body. The beast thrashed and crashed into the tower as it tried to reach the nasty itch, but it was too late.

An explosion of light ripped through the dragon's body from within, massive silver wings spinning out of control and engulfing the entire monster.

XXX

The atmosphere inside the headmaster's office was stifling. Weiss had tried to prepare herself based on Glynda's warning, but seeing and hearing the glumness among the participants was still unexpected.

It didn't feel like a meeting between someone expecting victory.

"We need. To defend. The southern farms." A tall, lanky man was projected onto the middle of the table and he was speaking with the tone of someone whose patience had already worn out.

"And _you_ need to listen." Qrow, with just a few more grey hairs since the last time she saw him, raised a finger and glared at the hologram. "We do not have enough people for that. We've already fortified the south several times, and that's not even where the majority of the Grimm attacks are occurring. We're choking up north with trying to protect the citizens, so unless you can have them evacuated at a greater rate, there's nothing we can do for your precious farms."

The man in the hologram did not look pleased. Weiss recognized him from a few news reports and public announcements during her time in Vale. He was one of Vale's council members, Aspen Ash. Glynda, who took position by the wall with a glare on her face, did not seem to care much for the topic at hand either. Behind Qrow stood a somewhat meek Oscar.

The last one in the room, a huge man in decorated armor, spoke with the voice of a boulder. "And what of your little side quest, Qrow? Your nieces are formidable fighters, can't they assist in this?"

Qrow's shoulder slumped. "That _side quest_ is the main reason we're here. And as I told you, they are looking at it as we speak."

"Well," Aspen Ash's flickering form scanned the room with his eyes, lingering on Weiss for a moment. "Seems like you've just received reinforcements."

"And we will put them to _good_ use."

"Very well. I expect a new report by dinner. Miss Schnee." He bowed in her direction, before the hologram flickered and vanished.

Qrow immediately groaned. "Why is _he_ our main contact?"

"He's the only one who can handle your drunken rave," Glynda stated dryly, to which Qrow threw his hands up.

"He's a fool. And hey, I never applied for a commanding rank here. You unhappy with how I do it, take the word yourself."

"No thanks." Glynda's eyes narrowed.

The headmaster of Signal rumbled, obviously displeased about something. The large man turned to Oscar.

"Ozpin, I'd like to discuss the distribution of your hunters once more."

"Hey, it's Oscar now," Qrow interrupted, "besides, I'm the unofficial head mofo here for the time being."

The headmaster frowned. "Remind me why I hired you as a teacher again."

"Because I'm charming as hell. Besides, it's not like any of this matters. When the dragon's gone, all we need to do is wipe out the remaining Grimm and voila, Remnant's a free world."

"A fairy tale." The headmaster glanced at Oscar, who cowered under his gaze. "If it were that easy, how come we've spent thousands of years battling these things? Are we sure that the dragon can even _be_ killed?"

"I…" Oscar started, but trailed off. He glanced at the floor, and shook his head as if disagreeing with himself. "I have no doubt she'll pull through."

"Hey, we know plenty of fairy tales that turned out to be true so far," Qrow quipped.

The headmaster remained stoic. "Still, to put this much faith into a single girl seems irresponsible to the citizens of Vale. Our trustworthiness is being questioned right and left. I trust you know what you're doing, Ozpin."

With that, the headmaster clasped his hands at his back and turned away. With a slow nod in Weiss' direction, the massive man shuffled out of the room.

"What was that about?" Weiss asked once only she, Glynda, Qrow and Oscar remained in the room.

Qrow sighed. "Don't hate on ol' Kong. He's a worrywart. Fears his school is going to be shut down unless we can rebuild Vale to its former glory. Which would mean I'd be out of a job too, heh." He stared into the holographic map of Vale on the table before them.

Weiss looked over at Oscar with a frown. "I take it he doesn't know? About Ozpin?"

Oscar shrank in on himself, shuffling uncomfortably. "We… decided not to say anything."

"The less people know about what happened in that hellish place, the better," Qrow said with a chill in his voice. "At least until it's all over. Plus, the added authority coming from flaunting his name has done us a lot of good so far. I'm sure you agree, Ice Queen."

"I… I didn't mean to imply otherwise." Ozpin's fate was only one result of the war. Countless memories, so many broken and exhausted friends and allies, even ones she'd never expected to see faltering, sent a chill down her spine. Weiss shook her head and steeled herself, returning to the present.

A hand touched her shoulder. It was Glynda, who gave her a gentle squeeze.

"Enough about that. Once this _situation_ is handled, we'll have plenty of time coming up with stories for the world to believe. Most still don't know about Salem or any of what's happened the past few years, save for the Grimm wars. It will be our job to pick up the pieces and assure people that the danger truly is over. Besides, even with the Grimm gone, there are still matters to attend to."

"Like rebuilding Beacon," Oscar said quietly.

"Before that, Vale needs to get back on its own feet," Qrow said. "Resources are still dwindling and that won't be fixed overnight."

"Not to mention the current rebellious state of the city as a whole," Glynda added. "If we're not careful with our tactics, we'll be overrun by other parties looking for a chance to control Vale. I'm sure the council members realize this too, thickheaded or not."

"That's why they want us on their side," Qrow drawled, pulling them into an agreeable silence while their thoughts settled.

Then Qrow looked at Weiss, and upon meeting his gaze she realized how utterly exhausted he looked. She wondered if his leg still hurt, but knew better than to expect an honest answer.

"So?"

She blinked. "So what?"

"Atlas. How's the situation? Can we expect any help beyond hi-tech transmitters and lovely ice ladies?"

Right. Weiss pulled a deep breath. "It is… unfavourable. While the Grimm has been on a drastic decline, the repercussions of war are not as easily diminished."

"And here I thought old metalhead had everything under control."

She sighed. "It's true the army is doing an excellent job regarding the Grimm and to control the public in general, but they can't shoot a hole in disease and famine. With resources from Mistral on a steady decline and the main power generator still under repair, the situation is pressing. Many are getting sick from lack of proper heating and availability to clean water. My brother…" she trailed off, shook her head, and met Qrow's gaze steadily. "If you don't mind, I… have had a long trip and I'm soon falling asleep where I stand. I'd like to see my teammates before long."

"Well, you'd have to fly then, princess. They're at Beacon trying to breathe life into that big lizard."

Weiss' gaze narrowed, wondering if she could make the captain of her ship take one more trip today, until Glynda spoke up. "I believe a bullhead will be on its way to pick them up very soon. If you want, you can more than likely join as a passenger."

"Thank you. I think I'll do that." Weiss curtly turned on her heel and strode for the door, but paused upon gripping the handle. Then she looked at Qrow and Oscar again. "We'll make sure this is solved to satisfaction."

Qrow's smirk only _nearly_ annoyed her this time. "Never had a doubt, kiddo."

XXX

"Shit…" Yang's heavy breathing was punctuated by that one word.

Blake could only agree. Their situation had turned around in an instant. A cloud of black dust was the only thing that remained of the dragon, and as soon as Ruby crashed back onto the tower, the tower shook beneath their feet.

"Oh dear." Oobleck stated. Peering over the edge of the tower revealed a group of goliath Grimm ramming the base of it over and over again. A sea of smaller Grimm pooled around them, moving like a chaotic wave towards the forest of Forever Fall, as if triggered by a dog whistle. Blake wavered on her feet as the tower shook again.

"Ruby!" Yang caught Ruby as her sister collapsed. Blood gushed from Ruby's nose and down her chin. She grasped weakly at Yang's jacket.

"We – gotta…uh..." She muttered incoherently, only held up by Yang's arms around her torso.

"Ruby!" Panic laced Yang's voice, drowned by a shrill shriek. A griffon had decided to come visit. Apparently, their invisible bubble had broken.

"We can't stay!" Oobleck yelled while engulfing the monster in flames. "Yang, Blake, get your leader out of here!"

Blake nodded once, then ran over to the sisters, putting her hands on Yang's. The blonde looked up at her with terrified eyes.

"I'll take her," Blake said. "You keep the Grimm out of our way, okay? We need to get to the docks."

Yang looked like she wanted to protest, but then her gaze hardened and she nodded.

"Right." She stood and reloaded Ember Celica, while Blake hefted Ruby up into her arms. The smaller girl – frankly, not as small as she once were – was hardly conscious, head rolling to a rest against Blake's shoulder. She looked even paler than usual, and the blood smearing her face didn't help any.

"Sooo soft…" she mumbled tiredly.

"Please don't smear that all over my clothes."

Blake approached the edge of the tower again, peering at the ocean of Grimm moving in a frenzy down below. The tower shook again, nearly stealing her balance as it swayed ominously.

"Well, this'll be suicide," Yang stated as she and Oobleck came up beside them, looking down as well. "I guess it's time to go all out." Her eyes lit up, but Blake grabbed her arm before she could rush off.

"Yang, look!"

"Skreeeeee!" Another nevermore soared their way, talons outstretched. Yang readied herself, when a rain of ice shards cut into the beast and sent it careening into the side of the tower.

A bullhead was approaching them at full speed. Several glyphs swirled in the air around it, fending of lesser Grimm.

"It's Weiss!" Blake breathed in relief.

"Hell yeah, that's timing!" Yang cheered, and began waving her arms. "Over here~!"

Their white-haired teammate provided much needed support for the bullhead as it approached the tower, aided by Yang firing at any Grimm coming too close as well. Ice and fire and lightning struck the monsters down, and allowed the bullhead to swing close to the tower.

"Get on!" Weiss yelled through the roar of the engine, leaning on the edge of the open door with her hair blowing everywhere. A range of glyphs appeared, creating a bridge for them to reach the aircraft. Blake sprinted forward and jumped, using her semblance to boost herself and her precious cargo onto the glyphs and into the bullhead. Oobleck followed after, using his flamethrower as propellant, and Yang still bombarded the skyborne Grimm around them with lightning strikes.

"Yang!" Weiss yelled at her as the bullhead started pulling away from the tower. The blonde blew a hole in the tower floor upon launching herself up and into the cargo hold.

Weiss snorted. "Showoff."

"Awwww, I'm glad to see you too!" Yang caught her in a bone-crushing hug, but immediately released her to fire at another griffon. There was a crash and the aircraft shook. Oobleck planted a hand on his hat and Blake swayed even kneeling on the floor, gripping Ruby tightly.

"Dammit, leave us alone already!" Yang snarled. "Weiss?"

Wordlessly, Weiss summoned a glyph right outside the opening, which Yang jumped onto. With a flick of her wrist, the glyph changed properties and propelled the blonde into the air to reach the aircraft's roof. Sounds of a scuffle broke out, screeching Grimm mixing with Yang's cries of battle. The cargo door closed, subduing the sounds and cutting off the violent winds.

"Just as long as she doesn't tear the bullhead apart," Weiss dryly noted. Then she looked down at her redheaded team leader who lay unmoving on the floor. "Is she…?"

"Passed out," Blake stated calmly, holding Ruby steady with a hand on her shoulder.

"I suppose that explains the Grimm problem."

"That was a tremendous display from young miss Rose," Oobleck said. "I'm surprised if she didn't completely deplete her aura back there."

Weiss' looked back at the rapidly shrinking tower. Indeed, the massive statue that had last adorned it was gone. Instead, a cloud of black dust slowly twirled upwards, like the ashes of a massive bonfire. She _had_ seen the blast of light from afar, but was dissatisfied with being just minutes too late to aid in the fight. Weiss Schnee was never late, so she'd have to make up for it later.

"There's no time to rest yet however. All those Grimm down there have just begun moving. Most likely, they'll be drawn to the very last source of negative energy they can feel in the proximity. That means Vale is in great danger." Oobleck looked deadly serious. "We were not prepared for the consequences of taking out the dragon at this time."

Looking at the black dust slowly trailing into the sky, Weiss' stomach coiled. A violent cough pulled her attention back, and she was on her knees beside Ruby and Blake a second later. Ruby had turned to her side, coughing blood and saliva on the floor.

"Ruby!"

"Uuuuuuh… I don't feel so good…" Ruby groaned, trying to put her arms under herself for support.

"Just lay still! Don't move around, you dunce!" Weiss pushed her back down. "You'll get blood everywhere!"

"Weissssss~" Ruby's arms circled around Weiss' neck and unceremoniously pulled her down on top of her. "How was Atlas, I wanna hear everything…"

"Not now, you dolt! Ugh, you're a mess!" She struggled to pull out of the hug, only to sit back up with a red blotch smeared across her white jacket. "Look what you did!"

"That's what you get for wearing white on the battlefield," Blake said, to Oobleck's agreeable nodding.

Weiss' shoulders sagged. "Of course. Why don't we just discuss our fashion sense while we're at it?"

"I think you're pretty, Weiss~"

"So I have approval from our resident tomboy and weapon brainiac, how reassuring."

"Hey, I wear a skirt too..." Ruby's chipper voice trailed off as her eyes slid closed, more blood trailing from her nose. Blake, having made herself useful, pressed a gauze from the ship's first aid kit against her face.

Outside, Yang reloaded Ember Celica as the last wave of nevermores fell to the ground. Their bodies disintegrated into black dust which slowly swept away through the air. Her eyes flicked around in search of more targets, when she caught sight of the black dust twirling above the tower. A gleam of white lightning erupted within the darkness, which grew denser and denser by the second.

"Wow, Rubes, I'm not sure _what_ you did, but that sure looks shady."

* * *

 **And that's when things went to shit.**

 **Given some of the feedback I've got, I wanted to add a few words here about the nature of this story.**

 **While it is mainly supposed to follow canon, that is of course impossible in the long run. We hardly know anything about the nature of Ruby's silver eyes, or the relics (which I've conveniently completely ignored) or a lot of other topics. If ANY of the things I'm playing with in this story actually happens, I'll be extremely surprised. Mainly, I wrote this because I wanted to explore a certain topic. I will not be exploring every single little thing that lead up to this point, because that is simply not part of this story and would turn this into a gargantuan beast that I am not willing to handle right now. Some topics will come up, but don't expect this to turn into an epic story covering everyone's stories throughout the series. A lot is left to your imagination, and that is on purpose.**

 **In any case, for the best setting to explore the topic the story is inspired by, I ended up using a presumed ending to the series as the starting point. When volume 5 airs, I'm expecting a lot of "facts" in this story to be completely obsolete, and that's fine, this is a fanfiction after all.**

 **These first chapters have been used to establish the setting and set up the initial atmosphere which surrounds our characters, but they've also shown some important events and hints that will explain what happen onwards.**

 **That said, I'm not too happy about the pacing in this chapter, with the switching between Weiss and the rest of the gang feeling a bit off. In any case, that's how it is now, I'll get better next time.**

 **Tell me what you think, it's the only way I can improve!**


	5. Chapter 5: Grimm

**Beta:** Skarlashka, bless your overworked soul

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Grimm**

From the depths of Forever Fall a tsunami broke forth. Black, rolling waves of frenzied predators crashed into the city borders and quickly tore on through the streets. Within minutes, the northern city defenses were overwhelmed by the dark forces of Grimm.

Any plans concerning what to do in the event of a large-scale attack were attempted deployed, but nobody had foreseen an attack of this size. Northern Vale City had already been emptied out, but now the Grimm pushed onwards through the safety zone and in into streets where civilians still lived, past desperate huntsmen who struggled to stand up to the invasion.

The result was disastrous. As soon as the breach was reported, Signal and Vale sent as many soldiers, huntsmen and huntresses they could spare. Many of them had experience with this sort of situation all the way back to the fall of Beacon; teams like CRDL, CFVY and other Beacon students being a primary source of defense for the civilians.

Even they couldn't simply swipe in and fend off the attackers though. The best they could do at this point was to hold back the Grimm while civilians were escorted deeper into the center of Vale.

XXX

At one of Vale City's many plazas, an explosion sent several Grimm flying, in pieces. They disintegrated before even hitting the ground, and the black dust twirled up towards the dark skies. Perched on a nearby window sill, Blake readied her Gambol Shroud.

This was not how she'd expected to spend her evening.

Using her semblance she jumped back into the density of Grimm which had singled her out as their target. She zipped between jaws, claws and spiked tails, leaving a hellfire of shadow clones in her wake. Once they exploded, any Grimm in the vicinity joined their dead brethren.

A large Beringel swung at her from behind and missed when Blake vanished, only to appear behind it. Several blows from Gambol Shroud and a few more dodges later, the massive Grimm collapsed and began evaporating like its comrades. Every single Grimm in the pack was set on destroying her now, clambering over each other to reach her, throwing rocks or even howling for reinforcements. Blake jumped upwards, emptying all of the remaining fire dust into a single clone which tore apart the remainder of the pack and most of the plaza as well. It didn't matter if a few buildings got destroyed in the process. If they didn't do this, nobody would ever move back here anyway.

Blake returned to the rooftops and took off in hunt of more opponents, wishing again that Sun was around to back them up. His fooleries aside, the combat prowess he could whip out had been invaluable more than once. He'd wanted to come, of course, but Blake's parents couldn't handle all of the White Fang politics by themselves, and without the CCT long-range communication was impossible. Even if he didn't want to admit it, Ghira's injuries made even walking to the bathroom a challenge.

Blake wished for nothing more than to let him rest and be able to enjoy the comfort of his own home for as long as he needed.

The rest of the White Fang forces, led by Ilia for the time being, was defending the perimeter further into the city. Normally Blake would have stayed with them too, but at the moment she was not just a commanding officer in the reformed White Fang.

She was part of team RWBY.

 _This is for everyone back home!_ She steeled her resolve and sped across the rooftops until a large explosion tore out half the roof beneath her. Blake jumped back and shielded her eyes against the rupturing light - accompanied by a gleeful shout.

"Yeaaaaaah!" Yang's fiery hair and flaming red eyes appeared from the hole in the roof, with a funnel of solar flares erupting in her wake. She spun in midair and shot back down at her opponents - two large Nuckaleeve brethren, or what might have been relatives. They both looked like a combination of two Grimm. One a twisted demon merged with its bull mount, charging ahead and skewering its targets on the massive horns protruding from the bull's head. The other looked like a combination of a griffon's body and the torso of a humanoid, but the impressive mane of hair and cat-like face suggested something closer to a lion. It flew around and supported its ally with aerial energy strikes which tore the ground apart and shattered walls. It was responsible for the destroyed roof.

Blake swiftly shifted through the air and struck the flying griffon-hybrid across its back. It roared and swung a clawed hand at her, only to have its claws frozen in place by an ice clone as Blake shifted to its front, planting her pistol against its face and blowing an eye out.

Down below, Yang charged at the bullrider Grimm, roaring as lightning and fire raged around her. Her semblance-powered punch connected with a horn and shattered it completely. Each strike she delivered came with a blitz of energy which simultaneously blinded her foe and pushed it back with powerful shockwaves. They'd fought far worse during their extensive hunts during the past year, across settled areas and uninhabited nightmarish wildlands both. This was nothing in comparison to the monstrosities they'd seen and slain out there.

It wasn't a question whether they could kill the Grimm or not.

The fury of Yang's attacks grew as she allowed power to fill her from the inside out, her grin pulled wider as the absolute elation of _letting loose_ embraced her. Her joints creaked under the growing pressure, a human body was not built to handle that amount of force. Not Grimm either. She had to consciously pull back from diving into the depths of her soul and soak up every speck of power lurking there. Dangerous, a small voice said, and her grin widened as the flaring light surrounding her grew.

"Doesn't matter anyway. You're _dead_!"

With a loud _crunch_ her fist connected with the bull's head, crushing its bone armor and popping an eye out from the sheer force. The shockwave blasted apart any lesser Grimm in the vicinity and cracked the walls of the already crumbling buildings around them. It wasn't often she could let loose like this, and the temptation to truly _let go_ was almost overwhelming.

She didn't though. She knew better. And it wasn't necessary. Each strike hit the Grimm with the force of a train, and the last one completely obliterated the Grimm in a spray of black goo. Bricks and wood blew apart in the buildings nearby, and the ground ripped open in a trench wide enough to land an airship.

As Yang's grin grew ever wider and she prepared to unleash hell on whatever Grimm had survived that explosion, Blake landed beside her. Behind them, the remains of the hybrid Grimm disintegrated before it hit the ground.

"Oh, hey Blake. You okay?"

"I'm fine. Yang, are you alright?"

"Never better!" She flashed a predatory grin at Blake, whose frown only grew. The way her ears flattened was just so endearing.

"Just don't… go overboard."

Yang smirked. "No worries kitten, I know what I'm doing. How many of these things can there be?"

"According to the scout reports? Tens of thousands. And that's only in Forever Fall."

"Then don't mind me setting some shit on fire!" Yang exploded forward, followed by her partner soon after.

Yeah, they were perfectly capable of handling Grimm. Trouble was… there wasn't just _one_ Grimm. Not even _one pack_. As soon as a pack was vanquished, or one Giant, Alpha or Elder disposed of, several more took its place.

There simply weren't enough hunters and huntresses to completely fend them off.

XXX

A few blocks over, a great blue light burst out between the buildings. Vale's northern district consisted mostly of residential areas, but this particular area had long since been evacuated. The struggle lay in keeping the Grimm from invading any further into the city while new evacuations took place.

A great sword swung and bisected an entire pack of creeps in one swoop. Stepping through the ensuing black dust was a great armored knight. It wasn't alone. Several other summoned allies charged past it, only to crash head on with the advancing Grimm. That was all on street level. Meanwhile, Weiss and Ruby fended off a pack of griffons on the rooftop above.

Weiss' glyphs made it effortless to reach the Grimm, and Ruby's scythe served as deadly as always to the creatures of darkness. Even so, Weiss' forehead was sweaty with concentration. Between supplying her summons and supporting Ruby, she had no capacity left to actually fight herself. Not that she needed to. Ruby was a projectile of destruction, hurtling from Grimm to Grimm like a bullet, partly boosted by glyphs and partly just a blur of rose petals. Alphas, Elders, it didn't matter. She didn't even need her silver eyes to deal with beasts of this level.

The last griffon faded away with its body cleaved in two, and Ruby crashed onto the roof, giving them both a few seconds to catch their breath.

"Nnnh." Ruby staggered and gripped her head, summoning a frown to Weiss' face.

"I told you to take it _easy_. You were bleeding half to death just a few hours ago."

"I'm fine!" Ruby stubbornly claimed.

"You're _not_ fine, you can barely stand! Just hold back on the hero-act and don't push it too far. I won't be happy if I have to carry you back home. And it _won't_ be bridal style. I'll have one of my summons carry you like a pig tied to your scythe."

A giant nevermore screeched as it flew past overhead, followed by a flock of lesser ones. Ruby grimaced and raised her scythe, collapsing it into gun mode and firing at the flying Grimm with impeccable accuracy. Each fallen Grimm evaporated into black dust which slowly trailed upwards to the boiling sky. Weiss' gaze lingered on the unruly clouds. Ever since they left Beacon, they'd been twirling like a building tornado, black and ominous.

 _Clank!_

Her eyes were drawn back to Ruby when Crescent Rose hit the rooftop. Ruby leaned on it with both hands, breathing heavily. No matter what she'd said earlier, insisting on coming despite the fountain of blood and all, she did look exhausted now.

There was no time to chat though. The telltale tug of her summons pulled Weiss' attention, and as she peered down from the edge of the roof her heart sank to her stomach.

"There's just too many."

A river of Grimm washed by beneath them, having finally overpowered her armored knight. With the continuous drain on her aura she couldn't keep summoning it indefinitely. And really, was there any point?

"We'll kill them." Ruby pulled Crescent Rose up, eyes burning with determination. Even injured, hunting Grimm always boosted her energy levels. She felt giddy if she couldn't; Crescent Rose almost itched in her grip. No way she'd be left behind at Signal over this.

"Not that I disagree, but we're hardly in a position to handle that many Grimm. The death of that dragon really set them off." Weiss glanced up again. "If it really _is_ dead…"

She didn't have a chance to say anything more before a rush of rose petals blasted past her and hurtled down at the Grimm-infested street below.

"Ruby! Oh you little—!" Weiss jumped after her, using a glyph to break her fall.

Ruby slammed into the ground and impaled a creep in the process. As the Grimm vaporized into black dust around her, Ruby stood and swung her scythe, only to find none of the Grimm stopping to face her. They all tumbled past like a scared flock of sheep, heading deeper into the city.

In a blur of motion Ruby shot after them, severing limbs and heads in her wake. The momentum of Crescent Rose and her semblance combined sent her into deadly spins which chopped the Grimm into pieces before they even knew what hit them.

Suddenly the blade of her scythe connected with another weapon. She jumped back, raising her weapon before realizing it was another hunter.

"Don't shoot!" He raised his hands, dropping the knife he'd used to block her strike.

"Wait, you're… Russel?" It took several moments before her brain caught up, it had been years since she last saw any of their former schoolmates. His spiky mohawk drooped slightly, but no doubt it was him, Russel Thrush of team CRDL. Ruby realized she'd simply charged ahead through the flock and nearly chopped him in half.

 _Time to slow down and think, Ruby!_

"We were pushed from our position, I lost the others," Russel was saying. He was favouring a side, bloody fingers saying more than words. His aura was completely depleted. Ruby sliced a beowolf in half and then hoisted Russel's arm over her shoulders, supporting the taller guy.

A crack of thunder split the sky, and then rain drops began soaking the city, Grimm and humans alike. Just another hassle for the exhausted fighters to deal with. Russel blinked tiredly, hanging onto Ruby.

"I don't think I…"

"Shut up and walk!" Ruby used Crescent Rose's gun form to blast the head off of a couple Grimm heading their way, but other than that most of them kept rushing past. _If they're this distracted we might actually get back without trouble,_ Ruby thought. _Though the fact that they're acting like this doesn't bode well for Vale._ It should have ended with the dragon. Instead the city had been overrun, and the fear spreading only triggered more and more Grimm to attack. The dragon must have been the only thing keeping them at Beacon, and now…

Ruby clenched her jaw and sniped Grimm after Grimm until her clip was empty, forcing her to stop and reload. Up ahead a bunch of Grimm was sent flying, ripped apart, and revealed a slightly ruffled Weiss. Her summoned knight swung its massive sword at Grimm right and left, slicing a deathstalker's tail off and catching another's stinger in a massive hand, swinging it around and tossing it into the side of a building with a massive crash.

"Weiss!" Ruby called out, pulling Russel along and shooting more Grimm along the way.

"Don't ever do that again!" Weiss hissed at her, hair slick with rainwater. "We need to stick together in this mess! What's wrong with _him_?"

"I don't know. But he needs help!"

"And how do you propose we do that? It's not like we have a bullhead ready to fly off within walking distance."

Of course, neither Ruby nor Weiss was well fit to carry around an injured guy double their size while fighting Grimm.

"Can your knight carry people?"

"Are you seriously suggesting I use it for transport instead of fighting?"

"Guuuh, uuuuh—" Russel wheezed, hanging heavier onto Ruby's shoulders.

"Hold on!" Ruby pulled him closer, while Weiss' eyes roamed to the wound at his side. Without asking for permission she grabbed the torn clothing and ripped it open to reveal a gash in his side. Even soaked with blood and rain it looked positively inflamed, hissing red blood veins thumping against the skin around the gash.

Russel's body convulsed and he cried out in pain, which sounded more like a guttural roar at this point.

"What's—" Ruby didn't get further before Russel swung at her, deflected by Crescent Rose but still forcing her back. Both she and Weiss tensed up, ready to retaliate.

Russel roared and thrashed and clawed at his head, to the astonished horror of the two huntresses watching. Bony spikes tore through the skin of his arms and torso like something was breaking every bone in his body from the inside out.

"What _is_ this? Some sort of Grimm?" Weiss yelled, pulling her rapier to point at the guy.

"…it's just like Spring."

"What?"

Ruby couldn't move. Her jaw bulged as she gritted her teeth even harder, every muscle taut and ready to move at a moment's notice. All she saw was the man, a fellow hunter, writhing in pain as fate cruelly added him to its shit list.

She knew what to do. But how could she do that?

 _He's a human!_

But… _No longer. That's a Grimm._

"I…"

 _We kill Grimm._

"Ruby, what do we do?" Weiss looked to her for a decision, just as pale as she felt.

Her hands shook as she gripped her Crescent Rose tighter. "I don't… know…"

"Ruby!"

With a guttural roar, the Russel-Grimm swept an inhumanly long arm at Weiss, deadly claws deflected off of a glyph while Weiss jumped back. Ruby clenched Crescent Rose, pushed everything else to the back of her mind, and tensed like a spring. Russel wailed and lunged forward, pushing Weiss further back with violent swings.

 _It's a Grimm it's a Grimm it's a Grimm it's—_

Russel's half-transformed torso separated from his waist with one powerful blow from Crescent Rose. His eyes were wide in confusion and pain, not even covered by a Grimm mask, and unlike the actual monsters, blood gushed from the wound. The separate parts hit the ground with a dull thud, and though no sound escaped, Russel's face twisted in a grimace.

Harsh breaths accompanied Ruby's thundering heart. She stared at Russel and the blood seeping into the trenches between the cobblestones. Her head was numb, but bile pressed on until she couldn't breathe. Weiss stood stone still, staring in horror at what used to be a fellow hunter, and the result of his transformation.

It was a tragedy, but there was no time to grieve. The Grimm still boiled around them, and now their situation had attracted more unwanted attention. Weiss blasted a few of them apart with fire dust before grabbing Ruby's trembling arm.

"We have to move!"

 _He's not disappearing._

"Y-Yeah." Ruby staggered as she moved, gripping Crescent Rose so tightly her knuckles whitened. The rain made everything wet and disgusting and soon it would even wash away the proof of Russel's humanity, though his body showed no sign of evaporating yet. Even so, the two huntresses pulled their weapons up and faced the oncoming wall of Grimm once more.

"Are you okay?" Weiss asked, even though she knew better. It was not as much a question whether Ruby was hurt or tired, but more a question to verify whether she'd be okay to keep fighting.

"Y-Yeah, I'm good, let's – let's just get this done."

XXX

In the end, they lost the entire north district to the Grimm. Not only huntsmen, but civilians that had not been evacuated in time lost their lives in the battle. There was no system in the chaos, but luckily, the huntsmen dropped in the middle of it all - team RWBY amongst them - managed to take out the biggest threats, and the next line of defenses continued to wipe out what Grimm escaped. In the end the Grimm numbers had been reduced enough to discourage the rest form pushing on. Instead, northern Vale was declared abandoned and everyone retreated to the next set of barricades further into the city.

"They will be gone," Weiss said, but whether she was trying to convince Ruby or herself was entirely uncertain. "They've lost their last spawn. It's only a matter of time now."

Ruby was still pale and uncharacteristically silent. She'd barely spoken a word since Russel and had been far too reckless with her power afterwards, wiping out hordes of monsters in one go and sporting a ridiculous amount of blood on her own clothes as a result.

Not that they weren't used to bloody battles by now.

There was only one area in Vale deemed a proper 'safe zone' without even thieves and scoundrels to worsen the citizen's already difficult lives. It was the district immediately surrounding the western docks, which connected to Patch through airships and boats. The air station now doubled as what had been dubbed "the safe house". Only inside this district's defenses did hunters not walk with their weapons drawn, and it was also where evacuated citizens waited to be placed elsewhere. With Patch and Signal bursting at the seams, most of them stayed in impromptu camps.

When the battered pair entered the safe house, Yang and Blake's big hugs was the last thing needed for Ruby to break down.

"I'm so sorry!" She wailed into Yang's embrace, clutching at her sister's clothes desperately.

"Hey, it's alright! We're all here, it's fine." Yang, though surprised by the sudden outburst, patted her head gently.

"I'm so sorry, Yang, I didn't want to – I didn't mean to—" She couldn't even get the words out, just held her sister even harder.

"Ruby, what's wrong?"

"I'm so sorry about S-S-Spring and I messed up and—" Ruby's words were interrupted by her own sobs, and Yang's expression suddenly grew tense. Blake and Weiss traded glances and wordlessly slipped away, leaving the two sisters to some privacy.

"I didn't see that coming," Blake commented as the two of them entered the air station's bathrooms and began pulling off their soaked clothes. There was no shower available, but at least they still had water in the sinks, according to their partners who'd already spent some weeks back in Vale before Blake and Weiss returned.

"Hmm." Weiss scrunched her nose up at the dripping state of her jacket. Grime and dirt colored the water a disgusting black. There was some red too, though she'd rather not think about where that came from. "I'm surprised it hasn't blown up in our faces before now."

"I guess this whole situation is getting to them. It _is_ their home, after all."

Weiss paused. That may be true, and Yang and Ruby did have some issues they really needed to deal with, but she was certain there was one simple explanation behind Ruby's breakdown back there.

"There was… an incident while we were cleaning the Grimm up. Blake, did you or Yang see anything… _strange_ , while you were out there?" Weiss wrung out each piece of clothing as she undressed, snapping them out afterwards to avoid _too_ many crinkles. Not that the Grimm would care, she just… wanted some sense of normalcy.

"You mean apart from the numerous elders and new specimens and the massive invasion that came out of nowhere?" Blake's amber eyes narrowed, she was quick to catch on as always. "We heard there were at least three lives lost among the huntsmen, and I know there are a lot of missing people reports already."

"Ruby and I reported one of those deaths. Russel Thrush of team CRDL."

There was a moment of silence as the two of them simultaneously tried to feel bad for their fellow huntsman and forget the ill will he and his teammates had had against some of their greatest friends.

"I… guess losing our fighters would put a strain on all of us."

"Yes, well, the weird thing about all this isn't that he died."

"And there's our Ice Queen."

"Just hear me out. He transformed."

Blake paused while pulling off her last piece of clothing. "Into what? A Grimm?"

Weiss wrung out her underwear with a puzzled expression. "I'm not sure. I don't know. It looked like one… but it had no mask. It was like he was stuck in a halfway transformation, or maybe it never finished."

"What happened?"

"Ruby killed him. I suppose… in the end, it was the only thing we could do. I should have been quicker. It was… eerily reminiscent of Spring."

Silence enveloped them for a few seconds.

"Head off?"

"Split at the waist."

"Classic."

"And the fact that we're talking about this like it's common should be a warning sign to our mental health."

"…Weiss. Nothing about this situation is healthy."

They both became quiet and eyed the soaking wet clothing they'd undressed from.

"...think the air driers still work?"

XXX

Outside the safe house the rain still thundered down, like the sky had ruptured with the death of that dragon. Frankly, Yang couldn't entirely dismiss the idea that the two had some sort of connection.

"So he turned into a Grimm…?"

Just saying it sent a cold rush down her back and Yang leaned on the window sill on the pretence to look outside, when in fact it was because her legs suddenly felt weak.

Ruby sat on the floor, leaning against the wall and clutching her knees to her chest, looking like a torn up kid. They were both wet and cold, but Yang would never leave her sister hanging like this in favour of a shower. Just went to show how deep their bond ran, she supposed, and that thought alone helped to warm her.

There had been a time when it seemed like the two sisters would stay separated by a cold front, and Yang was adamant about avoiding that ever again. She knew exactly why Ruby was so torn up over this Russel incident, and though she'd rather not start digging in those memories, she had to say _something._

"I'm not mad at you, you know. I was… in a bad place, for a while. I just wanted so badly to be recognized by Raven, and you guys weren't there."

Ruby buried her face in her knees. "I'm sorry."

"Ruby, you didn't kill Jasmine. I mean, she brought it on herself, she – she let that side of her consume her, and in the end she wasn't even human. You did what you had to, we all did." Yang turned and levelled a stern glare at her sister. "People don't just turn into Grimm without a reason. Jasmine was a great person, but she was already so twisted. I admit, that was part of what drew me to her in the first place. It was… wrong in so many ways. I was desperate for some sort of acceptance, and I'm not proud of it, but… it felt right at the time. I know I was being stubborn, as usual. And Jasmine, well, she was no better. In the end, it became too much for her and she... broke."

It hurt, to be honest it still made her want to go crazy with rage and smash up the entire room. Jasmine, while several years Yang's senior, had been there for her when nobody else had, even Raven. Yang's stubbornness had alienated her from her friends, her team, her sister, and in the end, almost caused their permanent falling out. But Ruby had persisted, even when everyone else shunned Yang, even when Yang thought she outright hated her.

"You always believed in me, and that's what saved me." Yang's voice became tender. "When Jasmine went mad, you were there to stop her. I certainly couldn't. And now, she lives on right here." She tapped her chest, and Ruby looked up with a sorrowful gaze.

"Yang…" she trailed off, then wiped her eyes on her sleeve. "I'm sorry for being such a crybaby. I just, kind of lost it when that happened to Russel."

"Aw, you'll always be my baby sis," Yang cooed. "So what _did_ happen to him anyway? I thought only Maidens were in danger of letting their inner monster _Spring_ forth."

Ruby rolled her eyes at the lame joke, but a small smile graced her lips for a second, before she frowned. "I don't know. It definitely looked the same… though Jasmine's Grimm for was way scarier."

"Maybe he was a dormant Maiden?"

"That's so not funny. Don't even joke about it! I don't know what I'd do if you ended up the same way, and it terrifies me."

"Hey, I make sure to never tap into that part of the power," Yang countered. "Still though, something feels really off about all this. The dragon's gone, all the Grimm are crazy, this weird ass storm keeps growing and now people are transforming? It doesn't _look_ like the Grimm's doomsday."

She glanced outside the window again, at the rolling, boiling sky above.

"What's going _on_?"

Ruby shook her head, slowly getting back to her feet. "I don't know, but… we just gotta do what we can. We'll get through this."

"That's my sis!" Yang pulled her into a bone-crushing hug.

"GAH! Yang – air – is – still – a thing!"

Once freed from the impending doom of Yang's stranglehold, Ruby did feel a bit better. The situation was nothing if not terrible, but since when had their lives ever been flowers and rainbows the past few years?

Their objective was clear as day – fight and kill as many Grimm as they could. Without any more Ancient spawners, eventually, they would run out. And then...

 _It'll be…over._ A sentimental smile pulled at Ruby's lips at that thought.

All of that would have to wait, however. Even if she may want to, going back out there to continue the fight right now was beyond the limits of her human body. After doing what she could to dry up a little in the bathroom, she returned to the waiting room only to find it clear that none of them was in any condition to keep fighting. Ruby wasn't the only one feeling weak after her blood loss and the following fights. Weiss' aura was nearly completely drained after numerous summons, Blake lay flat out on a table groaning for food, and Yang was, well, Yang.

Ruby never did figure out where her sister got all that energy from.

"Aw come on guys, are you really all done?"

"Not everyone has a gazillion aura points," Blake bit out, too exhausted to get up from her position.

"That's silly, I've just got immeasurable power is all, see?" She opened her hand and a flame sparked up. "My aura is perfectly normal."

"Unless you can use that fantastic power to dry us up you can stop flaunting," Weiss breathed, leaning back in the chair she'd slumped into as soon as they entered the room.

"I totally can! If I just combine wind and fire like this, see?" ROOOOOAR! "Woops."

Blake yelped as the cone of fire blasted past above her, trying to press herself onto the table. "YANG!"

"Sorry… it's hard to measure the output when it comes to mundane things like that."

"I'm pretty sure a maiden's power was _not_ created with hairdrying in mind," Weiss commented.

"What's cool about having power if it can't be used for anything fun, though? Right, Ruby? Back me up here, fellow ultimate power-wielder."

Ruby sighed deeply. "I'm hardly a powerhouse like you, Yang."

"Oh right, you just reduced a freaking Ancient to dust and single-handedly melted squid-woman to a goo."

"Still can't dry hair, I'm afraid." _Or so many others..._ "I just hope Jaune's okay," she muttered, forcing her mind off the topic. She had slumped to the floor beside Weiss' chair, resuming her position of hugging her knees to her chest.

"They were posted along the southern perimeter, so they should be fine," her partner said. "The Grimm has always been less active there, plus he's got Nora."

"Mmmh." Ruby couldn't help but worry.

The door opened, and the pale-faced remaining members of team CRDL entered. Ruby's guts wrenched, but the guys didn't even look at them. Behind them, the strict figure of Glynda entered too. She looked soaked, and slightly frayed, having done her part to defend Vale from the Grimm.

"There's a ship preparing to leave for Signal in a few minutes," she said. "I suggest you all board it."

XXX

The trip back was mostly a silent affair, with the occasional message over the ship's intercom. From up high, the city of Vale looked almost normal, but everyone aboard the bullhead knew better. Numerous huntsmen and huntresses, along with Vale's local law enforcement and military, were still hard at work securing the city from any new attacks. Even huntsmen needed rest though, and team RWBY would go back only to await their new orders.

As soon as they sat foot back in Signal, Qrow and Oscar were there to greet them. Glynda barely offered the two of them a glare as she shepherded a broken team CRDL back into the school. In response, Qrow shrugged helplessly.

The exchange went unnoticed by everyone but Blake, whose observant eyes never dulled.

"Hey Ossy, we missed you out there!" Yang slung an arm around the younger boy's shoulders, pulling him close.

"Um, I, uh—" he tried to speak, but couldn't get a word out for the intense blushing in his face.

"Be nice, Yang," Blake scolded.

"Aww but he's such a cutie." Yang ruffled his hair, but did release him, to his obvious relief.

"Well, you kids sure made a mess out of everything," Qrow drawled.

"Don't tell me you want _another_ recount of what happened?" Yang groaned, but Qrow just snorted.

"Please spare me. Heard everything from Oobleck after you took off."

Ruby let out a grateful sigh. "Oh good, I feel like my head's about to fall off."

There was a collective wince from the other three girls and Ruby blinked twice before realizing what she'd said. "No – I meant – I didn't mean like – this has nothing to do with Crescent Rose!"

"Rubes, you gotta realize with your track record, jokes about falling heads are no longer considered innocent."

Ruby's face lit up in a colour as deep as her cloak and she began sputtering, but nothing intelligent came out. The white-haired huntress beside her just sighed and looked at Qrow.

"If there's nothing else awaiting us, I do believe we're all more than ready for a few hours rest."

He shrugged. "Be my guest. Glad to see you all returned in one piece. Heads an' all."

Ruby winced again and tried to become as small as possible, but her partner grabbed her by the cloak and pulled her along.

"Appreciated."

"W-Wait!" Ruby realized something and stopped dead in her tracks. She looked back at Qrow and Oscar. "What about Jaune and the others, did they get back yet?"

"Not yet," Qrow said. "Apparently, a couple of Elder Grimm's been making the whole south a living hell. Nothin' they can't handle, but I'd guess they'll take a bit longer to regroup." He slapped a hand on Oscar's shoulder, making the boy jump. "We'll head over there to assist, just in case."

"We should go too!"

"No." Weiss jerked Ruby backwards, eliciting an 'eep' from the redhead. " _We_ aregoing to rest, and _you're_ not going anywhere."

"But we can—"

Weiss stuck a finger into her face, cutting her off. "We can _die_. I get that you basically live and breathe for the battlefield, but we're all exhausted, and have already spent the entire day fighting. We're not going to be any help if we're too tired to even raise our weapons. Last I checked, even Crescent Rose can't fight by herself."

"Listen to the snow princess," Qrow said, before Ruby could even open her mouth. "There'll be plenty of Grimm to fight tomorrow. Oscar and I have this covered, eh?"

Ruby looked at the boy, who smiled back. He used to be so nervous, but he too had grown a lot over the years. Maybe spending so much time with Ozpin had been good for him, after all. So basically, the only one being difficult was Ruby. With a slow exhale, Ruby let her shoulders relax. They did have a point about the dying thing.

"Okay."

She nearly fell over when Yang slapped a hand on her shoulder. "More importantly, we need to figure out sleeping stuffs! I, for one, plan to sleep until the Grimm return or we launch a counter-attack!"

It didn't feel right for them to be able to think about sleeping when people were still out there fighting, but Ruby's inner turmoil was quickly settled when Blake looked at Weiss and asked:

"Where are you sleeping, Weiss?"

"That is as of yet undecided."

Ruby instantly perked up. "Oh, oh! We have a free bed back home! You could come sleep with us!"

Yang mock-gasped. "What's this edgy suggestion I'm hearing from my sweet little Rubes? I kind of like my own bed just fine, but if you insist..."

"Wha…? YANG! No, that's _not_ what I meant! At all!"

"Oh really~?"

"Really really! God, you're such a pain in the ass!"

"What language is this? I'll be soaping your mouth tonight, young girl!"

While the two sisters bickered on, trailed by their partners who knew better than try to intervene between the siblings, Qrow and Oscar boarded the bullhead.

"Shouldn't we tell them? About… what Oobleck said."

The greying man limped to the nearest seat and dropped into it, pulling out his flask. "Ice Queen has a point. Giving them more reason to skip their resting time would be counterproductive for us. We need them at their top form, cause god knows we'll need their power sooner or later. The invasion today was just a small taste of what's out there." He unscrewed the flask and took a swig. "Besides, they'll know soon enough."

Oscar looked out the windows, at the coiling dark skies, before taking a seat beside Qrow with a heavy sigh.

"So… What's got you so down, kiddo?"

Of course Qrow would notice. Oscar contemplated whether to tell him, but in the end his mentor had a way to figure out anything. Well, at least part of it.

"It's just… sometimes I miss the old guy."

Instead of the trademark snort he'd expected, Qrow leaned forward and rested his arms on his knees.

"We all do, kid. We all do. Ozpin put his heart and soul into ending Salem. Literally. And we're left to pick up the pieces." He swirled his flask around. "What a great job we're doing."

* * *

 **This chapter gave me much headache, but it's time to stop nitpicking.**

 **Let's talk about what happens here.**

 **First, the invasion. It could have been longer. I didn't make it longer, and there's a reason.**

 **For one, I'm not a fan of overly long, drawnout fights. I _am_ a fan of getting in, showcasing what's interesting, and getting it done. Sometimes, that takes a few paragraphs, sometimes it takes a few lines. Depends what you want to show. That might not be what everyone else likes, but I tend to skip through long battles myself just to get back to the plot. So, unless the battle is extremely plot-relevant, I see no reason to drag it out. Still, I try to make it flow good and put in some goodies, so let me know if something feels incredibly jarring.**

 **And then there's the fact that this is set in a future where much of the Grimm have been wiped out. Of course facing a few more Grimm won't be a challenge to the girls at this point, and the point here was to showcase just what that means. They all _kick ass._ But we also see that no matter how many Grimm each of them can slay individually, the sheer numbers they're facing here, all at once, means a completely different battle.**

 **That and whatever happened to Russel.**

 **Why are they acting so happy towards the end tho? Well... that's just it, isn't it? People who see shit every day for years learn to deal... and maybe I'm doing it on purpose.**

 **I'm not going to give away what'll happen as we go on, but this will not end with a simple "yay we went super-saiyan and killed them all!"**

 **So, the girls.**

 **Blake has some split responsibilities and may or may not lean more towards one than the other. For her, the world of faunus and politics just may be what she's developing into becoming the most adept at, as well as super ninja catwoman explosions, because she's awesome. I mean, politics and killer skills? That's a deadly combo.**

 **Weiss is OP.**

 **Ruby didn't go all silver-eyed warrior on their asses and Weiss states why. She'd pass out and be useless, that's why.**

 **Also, Yang is a maiden.**

 **I wanted to play with a Yang that's more or less a walking powerhouse, so** **that's a thing. But,** **being a maiden doesn't come without its downsides. Hence, the Spring story. And yeah, she was in a relationship with Spring, who's called Jasmine here, because Jasmine is hot and exotic and that's that.**

 **And Ruby killed her.**

 **Do I like torturing Ruby? Yes. Yes I do.**


	6. Chapter 6: Rejection

**Beta:** Skarlashka

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Rejection**

Ruby pleaded. She begged. She whined. She used puppy eyes.

In the end, Weiss gave in simply because she could no longer see a light in the tunnel.

"You made the right choice," Yang said while pouring wine into the white-haired girl's glass. "She'd have kept going till tomorrow."

"That's what I feared." Weiss stopped pinching the bridge of her nose to pick up the glass, swirling the wine around. Here they were, drinking wine, while the world boiled away outside. Somehow, she had no energy left to care right now. If she'd learned one thing since the fall of Beacon, it was that battle would come soon enough, and that cherishing what little moments of peace they got was just as important. Nobody could fight an entire war on their own, even if her dunce of a partner might want to try.

"Besides, I have to admit sharing a room does sound marginally better than sleeping on the floor in some sweaty, stuffy classroom. Even if she _is_ a dolt."

"Hmm." The blonde sat back into the couch with a glass of her own. The contents reflected the muted holovision, which was playing some sort of drama show. A rerun from back when Vale was still able to make shows. "You're still saying that?"

"Because it's true. A matured dolt, true, but still a child at heart."

"Isn't that what makes her charming, tho?"

Yang's voice was so serious that Weiss had to look at her in surprise, only to find the blonde smirking at her from the corner of her eyes. Angrily, Weiss tossed the wine back and smacked the empty glass on the table.

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

Yang shrugged. "You're partners. Lots of partners end up sharing more than just combat."

"Not _all_ partners are like you and Blake." Weiss hissed. Then, she pulled a deep breath. "Yes, Ruby's nature has played a big role in getting us to where we are today. Although, perhaps we'd have fewer jokes about rolling heads if the brain that swung that scythe around was a tad bit more tactful."

"Ouch, that's harsh. You have to admit, my sister's pretty amazing though! Even when faced with impossible odds, she never gives up."

Weiss stared at her empty glass, but for a moment, she did not see the pristine crystal and instead the broken, defeated expression of a girl she'd once seen collapse in on herself. She pulled a breath and closed her eyes, washing the image away.

"You weren't there to see it."

Only the sounds from the kitchen sounded for a while. Ruby's excited squeals and Taiyang's humorous responses as the two of them prepared what would be the evening's supper.

"I know…" Yang started at last, and the humour had completely gone now. "I wasn't there for a lot of time. I… completely failed Ruby when she needed me the most. When I left home I thought I knew what I wanted. For a while, I kept thinking so, even after finding Ruby and you guys again. But then…"

"…Raven." Weiss suggested, when Yang didn't continue.

A dry laugh left Yang's lips, and she tossed back the rest of her wine. Then she grimaced. "Damn, I need something stronger for this kind of talk."

"No." Weiss shook her head. "Let's not go there. I do understand where you're coming from. To be honest, I felt something of the same, for a while. If it weren't for Winter, I might have gone in a different direction myself. But in the end, what matters is that we preserved."

"I just needed to make my sister murder someone over it first," Yang said, with a strange bitterness in her tone.

"That was not your fault."

"So you all keep saying." Yang reached forward for the bottle and poured herself some more wine. "I'm not sure Jasmine would agree. Not Ruby either."

"Ruby does _not_ hold that against you and you know it. If anything she blames herself for all of it! In the end, we all did what we thought was right. No…" Weiss decided to rephrase her thoughts, "We did what we thought was _best_. For us, ourselves, or others, for Remnant, it doesn't matter. At least we _did something_. Raven did prove an important ally, and you're the only one who could have brought her around. Add to the fact that Spring's powers came to our side when they did, and we have a lot to thank you for." She poured more wine into her own glass. The bottle was almost empty already, a luxurious blend of dust-stored wine from Atlas which she'd never expected to find in a home like this. Apparently it'd been a gift from Ironwood to Taiyang at some point in the past. Weiss found herself wondering what kind of relationship the two had.

Most likely, it was somehow connected to Summer.

She threw back the entire glass in one go and coughed at the burning taste.

"Wow, Schnee, didn't think you had it in you."

"You haven't seen my mother…" Weiss started, winced, and shut her mouth. _Do not make this into a night of mothers, Weiss._ She knew better than to touch upon that subject, at least in front of Ruby. Although she believed her partner had gotten over that particular bump in the road, she'd rather not risk ripping it up, what with the situation they were currently in already gnawing at their heads.

"It's tiiiiiiime~" The object of her thoughts came trailing into the room with a steaming tray in her hands and the biggest grin ever plastered on her face. "It's cookie tiiime~"

Only a dunce would let cookies overshadow every other worry in the world. But, Weiss thought as her team leader eagerly swept five cookies from the tray before even setting it down, Yang wasn't wrong. Qrow wasn't wrong. Heck, Ozpin wasn't wrong in that regard.

If it wasn't for that never-ending smile, would they even be here today?

"Weiff, want one?"

"Don't speak with your mouth full."

Ruby jumped onto the couch beside Weiss, jolting her so bad the wine glass nearly spilled over. Luckily, her reflexes had not dulled during her time in Atlas, and the couch barely avoided a shower of wine.

"What's taking Blake so long, anyway?" The redhead mused, oblivious to Weiss' heroic save and following glare.

"She said she had to check up on their delivery and the other White Fangs," Yang said from Weiss' other side, sweeping a cookie of her own from the tray. "She's kinda their boss now, so she's gotta be all responsible and stuff, you know."

"Ugh, that's so boring!" Ruby complained. "She should just ditch them and be with us!"

"You know, some people do have responsibilities beyond killing Grimm," Weiss sighed.

She was rewarded with a rare frown. "I know that," Ruby muttered guiltily.

"Weiss, your sense of responsibility is beyond _everything_ ," Yang grinned.

"What's that even supposed to mean?"

"Okay girls, hope you're ready for the main event!" Taiyang's entry proved a welcome distraction from Yang's teasing. Ruby instantly perked up, and the smell from the casserole he was carrying did wonders to wake even Weiss' appetite.

"Alright!" Yang eagerly leaned forward. "The Salty Sea Treasure Pot returns! Man, I've missed this."

"Salted Sea…what?"

"What didya put in this time, dad?" Ruby asked, equally as eager as her sister.

Taiyang set the casserole on the table and put his hands on his waist proudly. His apron featured a sandwich and a piece of butter. The text above the figures read 'You're my butter half'. Weiss felt part of her headache revive.

"You'll just have to find out, don't ya!" He grinned.

"Is it crabs? Please be crabs! I want all the legs!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Hey Rubes, we have guests. Don't be so shellfish." Yang's wink sealed the deal. Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose again.

"I'm going to need more wine…"

"Wow Weiss, I had no idea you were such a heavy _sinker_."

"I _will_ impale you."

"Girls, girls, be nice," Taiyang scolded, though his pointy finger looked decidedly less threatening with that apron on. "Why don't you let Weiss handle herself, Yang? You're out of _line_! This is an oppor- _tuna-_ ty to celebrate your safe return!"

To everything holy, let their mouths glue shut.

"Not bad, dad, not bad… buuuuut," Yang's smirk grew disturbingly huge, "you _cod_ do _batter_."

"That's it. I'm done."

"Weissss, don't leave me alone with these two!" Ruby was already sunken into the couch, hiding her face in shame.

"Sorry, Ruby, but I can't do this."

"Aww come on Weiss. Any fin is possible as long as you don't trout yourself!"

XXX

Of course, leaving was out of the question. Mainly because the food turned out to be far better than the puns, but also because Taiyang refused them to leave early.

Apparently, he had made it his mission to take their minds off of Vale, Grimm dragons, and the remaining troubles to be faced, by all means possible. After numerous terrible fish and food puns (to which Ruby grew steadily more embarrassed and Weiss developed the ability to shut off her ears), the Rose-Xiao Long family head broke out the board games. They played (Ruby lost) and drank more wine while sharing embarrassing stories from various bar visits – that is, Yang and Taiyang shared stories while Ruby and Weiss sat stock still and tried to not grow any more red-faced than they already were.

At some point Yang challenged them to a drinking game, pulling even Ruby into the alcohol, which turned out to be a very bad idea – soon she was as abrasive, loud and headache-inducing as her father and sister _combined_. Only with Blake's late arrival did Yang take off, pulling the faunus upstairs to show her the room they'd share (babbling something about a mattress on the floor and keeping their _paws_ off each other, Weiss stopped listening there).

At this point Ruby had descended into helpless giggles over god knew what, and Taiyang, who held his alcohol far better than any of his daughters, got up to clean off the tables.

"This was a terrible mistake," Weiss groaned as the living room floated before her eyes. That was definitely the last time she'd mix Atlesian wine with whatever that bottle Yang had pulled out contained.

"Weissssssssss, you never make mistakes!" Ruby giggled while lying on the table as if she didn't have the strength to sit straight – which might very well be true. If Weiss was intoxicated, Ruby was absolutely _smashed._

"No, I don't. This is all Yang's fault," Weiss decided to pass the blame on. "That and these _horribly_ large glasses! Who drinks wine from _milk glasses_!?"

"Whaaat but you didn't hafta drink it aaaaall!"

"You don't pour out wine from Atlas! That would be heresy!"

"You coulda given it to meeeee!" The redhead rolled on the table until she lay on her side, laughing at her own joke, if that was what it was.

"Ruby, if you got any more alcohol in your system, you would—" swaying pause, "—melt."

Ruby snorted loudly, slid off the table and crashed to the floor, where she began laughing so hard she cried.

"I can't even sit right!"

"You're drunk. You need to go to bed."

Weiss stood, swayed, and bent down to pick Ruby up by her arms. Of course, the other girl was laughing too hard to help, and Weiss ended up half dragging, half kicking Ruby out from the tangle of chairs. By the time they were clear, she could hardly put one foot in front of the other.

"I'm _so_ going to regret this."

"Weissssssss," Ruby, helplessly stuck on the floor, latched onto her legs like a leech. "I love you~"

"No."

"Yesssssssss~"

"Get up."

"I caaaaaaaan't, you gotta carry me."

"Ruby, I'm going to give you _one_ chance, and then I'm launching your butt up the stairs. No promises made as for where you'll land."

"But we were having so much fuuuuuuuun." The whine reached new pitches. Weiss' eardrums were already vibrating from the strain. She forced her legs to move one step forward, damned be Ruby's clinginess. It was like dragging her feet through the swamps of Mistral, her partner's dead weight like a ball and chain. Just one step was a chore, and she instantly stumbled and cursed when her heeled shoe buckled. By some force of luck she managed to catch herself on the back of the couch.

"Ruby!"

"I'm gonna barf."

Weiss yanked her legs free in alarm, but Ruby just remained lying face down. Taiyang stuck his head out of the kitchen.

"Need a hand, girls?"

"We're _fine,_ " Weiss insisted, glaring at the stairs not many meters ahead. If she could just get over there… and then up, somehow...

A loud giggle escaped Ruby. Suddenly, her arms clasped around Weiss' waist.

"Hang on, Weiss! I'll get us up in noooooooooo time!"

"Wha—" She didn't get another word out before the world became a blur. Within an instant the stairs were cleared, and they crashed onto the floor on the second floor, rose petals exploding in every possible direction, clouding the entire hallway. Weiss toppled over and hit the wall, while Ruby lay sprawled on her back.

"Oooowww, bad – landing –"

"What are you doing!?" Weiss clambered to her feet, face burning from alcohol and embarrassment both, waving petals from her face. Everything tilted violently to the right, and she was tempted to smash Ruby's head with a glyph just to get even.

"Whatcha doin'?" Yang's head stuck out from a door right ahead, with Blake's joining seconds later. They were both brushing their teeth and looked far too fresh, albeit a bit loopy, or maybe that was because Weiss' vision was swimming.

"…what in the world did you poison us with?" Weiss breathed, leaning against the wall for support.

Yang shrugged. "I dunno, got it from uncle Qrow."

"Why am I not surprised…"

"Hey, it's completely safe. I even drank half the bottle on my own, and I'm fine, see?" She jabbed her toothbrush into her chest.

"Somehow I'm sure this has something to do with being the Spring Maiden…"

"Come oooon, Weiss, admit it. You're just a lightweight."

"I am _not_ small!"

"Cookies!"

"Shut up, Ruby."

Blake's wavy face looked at Yang's. "This isn't the first time we've seen them like this, is it?"

Yang joined her easily. "You're right. Remember that one time in that pub in Mistral? Ruby kept rushing back and forth knocking all the bottles and glasses over. What a brawl that turned into!"

Weiss tried to muster a disapproving glare. "I don't remember a brawl."

"Well, I'm not surprised," Blake helpfully supplied, "since you were passed out in a corner. I know, because I sat right across from you."

Weiss would have rolled her eyes if they weren't already spinning. "Says the faunus who spent the majority of the night batting at the ice cubes in her beer. I wasn't _completely_ gone, thank you."

Blake blushed and retreated back into the bathroom with a small 'why I don't drink'. Weiss had only just regained enough balance to try a step forward when she was knocked back down to the floor by Ruby, who'd thrown herself over her shoulders with a cheerful 'Weisscuuuuuubes~'.

"Welp, good luck with that!" Yang pulled back as well and closed the door behind her, likely to avoid any debris from the ensuing battle.

"Remember, girls, no destroying of the house! You're the ones repairing!" Taiyang's cheerful voice sounded from downstairs, aborting all plans of blasting the silly redhead to Vacuo.

"Ruby Rose, you are no longer fifteen!" Weiss growled, fighting dizziness and drunkenness as she struggled to push Ruby off. "I swear, logging around that scythe of yours has only let you absorb its ridiculous weight!"

"I loooooove Creshe-he-Crushin' Rose~" Ruby cooed, rolling onto her back and grinning at the ceiling. "She's so sleek and shiny and strong and sharp and wonderful~"

"…I'm going to bed now."

"Me too! Letsh go–" _snort_ "–sleep together!"

"No."

XXX

Sadly, she remembered all too late just _why_ alcohol was not her preferred beverage. Weiss woke not once, not twice, but _four_ times during the first half of the night. _Right about now, I'd be grateful if I could actually summon a toilet,_ she thought uselessly. With a groan of discomfort, she swung her legs out of the bed and into the silly rabbit slippers Ruby had generously lent her. She shuffled into the hallway, grimacing at the sudden glaring light from the ceiling light.

Once refreshed she returned to the room, only to stop by the pile of travel gear between the two beds. She wasn't the only one having trouble sleeping, it seemed. Ruby looked restless too, moving about in her sleep, eyes clenched shut. Debating for a moment, Weiss walked up to her partner's side, trying to decide whether or not waking her up was the kind thing to do.

"I dun wanna…" the redhead muttered and gripped the sheets in her fist. Pearls of sweat ran down her face while muscles built to swing Crescent Rose tensed in her arms. Weiss blushed and coughed awkwardly into her hand. Yes, Ruby Rose, dolt supreme, was no longer fifteen years old. In fact, the distance between their ages had only seemed to lessen the more time passed. And, Weiss admitted, she'd grown in all the right ways.

Pulling a deep breath to cool the heat in her face, Weiss shook her head defiantly and then set her shoulders square. She reached out and shook Ruby by the arm.

Solid silver eyes opened, glowing dimly in the dark room and momentarily startling Weiss with the intensity. The silver burned like liquid metal, casting a cold light on their surroundings. Slowly, it died off, and Ruby rolled onto her back, blinking tiredly.

Weiss cautiously peered down at her.

"…Ruby?"

"Weiss?" Her voice sounded groggy, as Ruby sat up and rubbed her eye. Her tank top slid down on her shoulder. "What's going on?"

"…you were having a nightmare, I believe." Weiss refused to look at anything but Ruby's face.

"Oh." Ruby didn't seem particularly disturbed. "I don't remember what it was."

"Well, you seem fine now, so…"

She would have expected a positive confirmation, but Ruby didn't say anything at all. Instead, she merely stared at the bed. It was such an odd expression to see on that face that Weiss found herself unable to leave just yet.

"Ruby? Are you okay?"

Ruby flopped back onto the bed and put her hands over her eyes. "I don't know."

Weiss was stumped by the honest answer. It wasn't like Ruby to let insecurities slip like that. In one way, it was relieving. Suppressing feelings had given them more grief than she cared to remember, in the past.

With a sigh, Weiss stepped forward and sat herself down at the edge of Ruby's bed. It creaked under the added weight. Then, feeling like nothing she said would matter, she put a hand on Ruby's arm instead, prompting the girl to remove her hands and reveal tired eyes.

"I'm… I'm here for you, you know." She silently cursed the hesitation, but even now, saying things like that out loud were so unfamiliar to Weiss. It felt... strange, to have people so closely bonded to her that she'd even consider using those kinds of words.

A small smile worked its way onto Ruby's face. "Thanks, Weiss."

They stayed like that, in silence for a few seconds. Whether or not Ruby would talk, Weiss didn't know. They'd shared a lot over their time together, and had seen each other's ups and downs more than once. Even so, sometimes she felt a ghost of line between them, somewhere she hadn't been able to truly reach.

"Hey, you never did tell us what Atlas was like."

Weiss' mouth grew dry. She'd been prepared to talk about anything, but that. "I… suppose not." She glanced across the room at a heavy winter cloak which Yang had spent hours complaining about when they visited Atlas last year. It felt like ages ago.

"It's… cold."

"Duh. How's everyone doing? Cinder, your family?"

"Before that, can I just say how incredible it is that you manage to _care_ for that monster of a woman?"

"Weiss, she nearly died for us."

"After she tried to kill you! She _murdered_ Pyrrha!"

A stubborn light grew in Ruby's eyes, and a pout formed on her face. Weiss knew she had lost.

"Look – fine, whatever. Cinder is still in intensive care. No one is really sure how she survived or what happened to the other maidens, but she's recovering… slowly."

"I can't believe she planned to absorb all four maiden powers…" Ruby muttered.

"Just another reason to finish her off, if you ask me." Weiss rolled her eyes at Ruby's attempted glare. "Anyway," she continued, "she's got Hazel with her, the man proves surprisingly warm-hearted. As per your insistence, they are treated with the respect and care of other war heroes." Despite all her ill will towards the woman, Weiss had to respect Ruby's decision to demand their freedom. In the end, the two of them had proved vital allies in finding and ending Salem.

Ruby glanced off to the side. "It makes no sense. I just… thought it would be over, you know? With the dragon and all."

"I believe everyone thought the same."

Ruby plucked at the sheets. "Weiss, do you think… did I mess up? Somehow?"

"How, by doing exactly what everyone thought was right? I see no other way for us to have killed that dragon, and leaving it be was far too dangerous. It was still spawning, right?"

"Yeah. I… didn't notice though."

Weiss chose not to comment on that. "The fact that the Grimm went rabid was a factor we weren't adequately prepared for. As far as I gather, the plan was for us to go in and install the new transmitter once the dragon was dead and the airspace cleared of Grimm. We need more forces to take out the remaining Grimm, but Ironwood doesn't have a lot to spare these days. Once he receives the signal, they're in and out within a matter of days. Well, that was the original plan, in any case." Not much had changed, bar the fact that Vale was in a much more reduced state than expected. Weiss decided not to state the obvious lest she bring the mood down even further.

"The Grimm likely have no direction or purpose at the moment, pure instinct driving them into an attack frenzy. The fact that they stopped when they did either speaks of some Elders still controlling them, or that the remainder are simply older and wiser and knows not to run to their doom. We simply need to clean them out and this will be over and done with."

Left unsaid was the Russel thing, but neither girl brought that up, perhaps equally as uncertain how to interpret it. Instead, the bed shifted as Ruby leaned on her elbows.

"I'm… scared."

"Ruby… after everything we've seen and done, being scared seems as human as we become."

And that's when Ruby moved forward. She snuck her arms around Weiss to pull her into a hug, resting against her shoulder. Warm and heartfelt, it made Weiss' heart jump.

"You're my best friend, Weiss. I don't wanna lose you, or anyone else."

Weiss placed a hand on Ruby's arm and pulled a deep breath. "You dolt. As if I'd let a bunch of Grimm be my bane after everything we've been through."

"Will you… will you stay? After this is over?"

Weiss bought herself some thinking seconds by bringing her hand up and stroking through Ruby's soft hair. The faint scent of roses felt so familiar and comforting, she wanted to bury her nose in the red locks.

It would never work. Not with her future, not with the decision she'd taken, not with the world as it was. Not like what Ruby hoped for.

"Atlas is… the situation there is critical. The Schnee Dust Company is one of the major players in bringing in enough supplies from outside, but Mistral, Atlas' biggest trading partner, has their own problems these days. My father, the company, and Atlas, need someone to help make things go around. And my brother…" She closed her eyes briefly. "He's very sick, Ruby. I don't think… they believe he might not have long left."

Ruby squeezed Weiss tighter, burying her face into the crook of her neck.

"I'm so sorry, Weiss."

"Don't be. I've been thinking a lot, and… maybe this will be my chance to make things right. Make up for what my dad's ways have incurred over so many years. I've decided to dedicate myself to better the situation in Atlas and bring back the good name of the Schnee Dust Company in the process."

Ruby's grip only tightened. "I want to go with you," she muttered, effectively melting Weiss' heart.

"Ruby… It won't be what you think it will be. Business and politics is incredibly taxing, even for someone who's spent years in that toxic climate. I don't wish that upon you."

"I don't care. I... love you Weiss, you're my – best friend and I just… I don't want to be alone."

Her heart felt like it was being wrung dry. That sincerity was almost too much. "You're not alone, Ruby. Yang, Blake, your dad, Qrow… they're all here for you. As am I. And Vale needs you, more than Atlas at the moment." She gingerly put a hand on Ruby's back. "Come on. You need to sleep, and frankly, I still feel like a sailor in bad waters. Our battle isn't over yet."

Slowly, Ruby pulled back, hanging her head tiredly. "Yeah… I guess."

Weiss smiled, and booped her nose with a finger, earning herself a surprised glance.

"I love you too Ruby. Now get some sleep, okay?"

* * *

 **Every story has a start, a middle, and an end. This is when we enter the middle.**

 **We get some insight into Weiss' situation (or is it Weiss's? I'm confused)**

 **Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favorited and followed this so far! You're the best!**


	7. Chapter 7: Change

**Beta:** Skarlashka

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Change**

The Vale council's main office currently resided in a hotel suite in Patch's most prestigious hotel. The sheer size of the hotel, sporting 20 stories in total and over 300 rooms, seemed a fitting place for Vale's most important men. What would they do if a giant nevermore swooped in and destroyed the top of the building? Blake still had trouble understanding the mindset of people not used to the battlefield.

The fancy location didn't help Oscar, who still looked like he hoped the elevator would come crashing down rather than set his foot inside the office.

"Nervous?" Blake asked, offering the boy a smile.

He drew a deep breath. "Yeah…"

"Just keep your mouth shut and let us speak," Qrow drawled from Oscar's other side. Behind them, headmaster Kong made a snorting sound of approval.

While not in the same situation as Oscar, Blake did feel a certain pressure at having been called here today. Why her, of all people? Well, she knew why - it was the White Fang, obviously. Vale hadn't exactly… jumped in joy at the prospect of having them back here.

In an effort to avoid becoming nervous, she focused on the antics around breakfast that morning – Ruby and Weiss had both been nursing hammering headaches and Yang and Taiyang had taken every opportunity to pick and dote on them the way only family could. The warm welcome into Yang and Ruby's home made it feel like they were all a big family. How nice, if time could stand still and let them be just that for a few more days.

But as it were, duty called.

With a soft ding, the elevator doors slid open at the top floor. Oscar stiffly walked out and Blake followed, coat-tails floating behind her legs. Qrow limped out next to her, and the headmaster of Signal made up the rear, towering above all of them. A strange group of people if she ever knew one, but Blake had learned to cope with stranger things the past few years.

There were only a handful of rooms on this floor, and all of them were suites. No doubt the council members occupied one each and used a fourth as their main office. A few soldiers were posted to guard the floor, and eyed the group with nods of acknowledgment as they entered the open office room.

It actually did look like an office. Several bookshelves had been set up inside, crammed with files and books, and salvaged goods from the Vale main office stood on every available space. A map of Vale hung awkwardly across the windows, like a curtain. On it were several circles and crossed out sections, including the northern district. A large desk had been placed in the middle of the room, and the separate bedroom stayed shut.

"Ah, yes, welcome."

The Vale council members had been seated by a round table drinking tea, but upon their arrival the tallest one stood and spread his arms. His nose reminded Blake of a beak.

He smelled funny.

"Aspen Ash," Qrow drawled, "I never took you for the tea-drinking type." He reached for his own flask, only to stop when Oscar put a hand on his arm. With a roll of his eyes, the greying man put the flask back.

"I do enjoy the taste of culture every now and then," Ash said, quirking his lips into a small smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Also, good company helps bring out the taste. These are my fellow councilmen, Perren Hunt and Paul Soot." The other men at the table nodded their way, one pushing his glasses up. They were obviously civilians and little more, their build neither that of a hunter or soldier. Maybe Vale did have a good idea, bringing common folks in as politicians.

"Ash," the headmaster rumbled, "I'm sure we all have full schedules."

The councilman clasped his hands together. "Ah yes, headmaster Kong, you are right. Let's get to it."

As if it were a practiced manoeuvre, the three councilmen shuffled over to the large desk in the middle of the room, and gathered behind it like the jury of a courtroom. Blake's ears flattened against her head, and didn't move when Ash coughed into his fist and looked down at the papers in front of him.

"Blake Belladonna, if you may?"

Personal dislike or not, these were Vale's top dogs at the moment. Blake released a sigh and forced her shoulders to relax.

"Yes, sir." She stepped forward, gathering her hands in front of her, and tried to remain relaxed even as their scrutinizing stares roamed over her.

"You are a faunus, yes?"

She twitched her ears just for emphasis. "I am."

"And a member of the White Fang?"

"Commanding officer, actually."

The council member with glasses – Paul? – cleared his throat. "You arrived the other day with a fleet of your fellow kin, is that correct?"

"We brought supplies from Menagerie and Vacuo," she said, with only a hint of impatience. "We'll be going back to get more given the chance."

Perren 'hmmed' in thoughtful approval and Paul scribbled something in his notebook.

"Forgive me, miss Belladonna," Ash said, "but you are aware that the Fall of Beacon happened just three years ago, right?"

Somehow, she managed to not roll her eyes. "I may have heard some rumors." The slight sarcasm wasn't as easily contained.

"And you also know that the White Fang was heavily present and believed to entertain a key role in the incident?"

Her patience was quickly running thin. She narrowed her eyes at Ash. "Forgive me, sir, but are you saying you'd rather have us leave?"

He sighed. "I do apologize, miss Belladonna. Please understand that Vale is in a difficult situation. People are afraid, crime is running at an all-time high, the Grimm are invading our streets. We don't even have numbers on how many died or went missing during the last attack, or whether there are any survivors to be found among the ruins. Things are… chaotic. We appreciate the help you and your brethren have given us, but not everyone feels the same. The White Fang's presence has started to cause unrest among the refugees."

Blake thought back to Signal, and the glances she'd received since they came along. Ilia's report of the situation only added to the feeling that not everyone thought them welcome, despite the help they brought. Not that it mattered. They'd do what was right, for once.

"Ash, do you have a point to all this?" Qrow asked.

"Please refrain from interrupting, Qrow. We will address you in due time."

He looked stumped, frowned, and pulled out his flask. "Oh you go ahead and be an ass. Don't mind me."

"What is the point of this discussion?" Blake asked, only slightly irritated that someone else felt the need to jump to her protection. "We are all well aware of the White Fang's actions during the fall of Beacon. They are no longer the same organisation; I've made sure of that myself."

"We've heard of the changes to White Fang's politics, but as you can imagine, the people have not yet accepted it as facts. Truth is, they're still living in this nightmare thanks, in part, to the White Fang. I trust your goal is to rebuild relations with Vale as a kingdom?"

"Well… of course, we want to establish peace—"

"Then you should have no trouble seeing our proposal from our point of view."

"What proposal?"

"You will use your White Fang to aid Vale in ending this Grimm infestation."

It wasn't unexpected, and to be fair, they had a lot of strong fighters in their ranks. After seeing just how bad the situation was with her own eyes, supplying Vale with a few more hands seemed only right.

Blake bowed her head respectfully. "We will be glad to assist. We already did participate in the defense of Vale yesterday and will continue to do so."

Ash did look grateful at that, and the other council members actually looked at each other and smiled.

"I'm glad to hear it. That brings us to the second item on the agenda. Ozpin," Ash's eyes flickered over to Oscar, who jerked at the attention. "The dragon. Why was it not dealt with like we agreed?"

"Oh for the love of shitheads." Qrow pushed past Blake to stand in front. "If you didn't notice, it's _because_ we dealt with the dragon that we're in this situation. Didn't you get the memo?"

"Qrow Branwen, former huntsman and teacher at Signal Academy," the bespectacled councilman suddenly spoke up. Their eyes met. "Please await your turn."

Qrow looked as stumped as Blake felt, merely raising his hands in a 'are you for real?' gesture.

"Qrow, stand back," headmaster Kong rumbled, and with a glare at the councilmen, Qrow slinked back to Oscar's side, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder. The boy jerked again, then slowly brushed past Blake to stand face to face with the council.

"Um…"

Ash pulled up a bunch of papers. "Ozpin…"

"His name's Oscar, by the way," Qrow supplied before taking another swig of his flask.

He was ignored. "We were told that leaving your forces to deal with the dragon would be a safe choice. You assured us the dragon could be killed in one blow. Can you explain to us how we ended up with several hundred dead and missing and lost the entire northern district to the Grimm?"

Oscar's nervousness could be smelled from afar.

"Um, I – I mean, we did kill it, it's dead, it just… didn't really vanish. Not completely."

"As I understand it from your report, instead of killing the dragon, you merely activated a defence system of sorts. It sent the Grimm into a frenzy, and continues to pollute our airspace."

"Wait a minute," Blake said, "we did kill the dragon. I was there, I saw it happen. It was skewered and blasted apart!" Having their accomplishment belittled like that rubbed her the wrong way. Ruby had bled herself unconsciousness over it, damn it!

"As I'm sure you understand, miss Belladonna, the leader of a former terrorist group does not please the masses as far as testimonies goes."

"But it's the truth!" She protested, only for Ash to raise his hand in a silencing gesture. The room grew silent, though Blake glared at the man. She _really_ didn't like this guy.

"It doesn't matter. Fact is, while you were out there, Grimm attacked and brought Vale into chaos. Since the plan so far has been unsuccessful, we propose a new plan of action. Ozpin, Belladonna, Kong, we'll need your full cooperation for this to work and we expect to hear no opposition at this point."

"Very well," the headmaster's deep voice rolled over Blake's head. "I put whatever forces I have at my disposal to your service, council."

Blake huffed. "I already said we'd help."

Oscar looked like he considered jumping out a window. "Uh, um, we'll—do whatever it takes, of course." He glanced back at Qrow, who merely glared at the councilman.

"Good. The plan of action is as follows."

XXX

"They've got to be kidding!" Blake exploded the moment they were back in the elevator.

"Blake…" Qrow's voice held a note of warning, but she couldn't stop.

"No, I refuse to accept this! They're going to get us all killed!"

"Hrrrm," headmaster Kong rumbled, massive arms crossed over his chest. He was the only one who hadn't reacted with shock or rage to the presented 'plan of action'. He didn't seem like the type to react much at all, in fact.

"I don't like it either," Qrow said, "but we're going to have to figure this out."

"It's madness! They want to send the White Fang to retake Beacon tower all on our own! We're fighters, yes, but not all of us are huntsmen, and who _knows_ how many Grimm are still waiting there. And if that's not bad enough, they want to send Ruby and _Yang_ on a suicide mission to plunge into Forever Fall and face thousands of Grimm all by themselves. I don't care if it's a 'proactive step to avoid another invasion' or whatever, they might be powerful, but they're not _gods_! I'm glad he at least wants someone to look for survivors with Yang and Ruby as their frontline, but why is most everyone else supposed to stand by in the southern perimeter, protecting _crops_!?"

Her fist connected with the wall of the elevator, just in time for it to ding open on the first floor. A confused family stood there waiting, and Blake reluctantly pulled herself out with the others, still fuming silently.

"I don't think I've ever heard you talk so much," Qrow stated.

"What are we going to _do_?" Blake snapped, turning on him and accidentally bumping into Oscar. His wince made her realize how abrasive she was being, and she stopped to pull a deep breath. Raging around like this wasn't going to solve anything.

"Our main objective is Vale," headmaster Kong said. Blake didn't know what to make of his statements, she didn't really know where he stood in all this. The council seemed to trust him, and so did Qrow. Then again, Qrow was an enigma on his own.

"If Vale falls, all is lost," the headmaster continued. "Likewise, our crops are crucial to keep the population fed. If sending our best fighters to handle the Grimm is the best way to avoid more casualties, we should do so."

The worst part was, she couldn't really argue that logic. Yang was the Spring Maiden and held more power in her fingertips than most people did in an entire lifetime. Ruby could vanquish Grimm with a single _look_. There was no one better to send into the danger zone.

But that didn't mean Blake had to like it.

XXX

They were back again. Tiny, tiny flecks of white light floated around, but Ruby knew better than to try and bat them away. Sometimes, her head played tricks on her. An irritated sigh left her as she closed her eyes briefly, then refocused on Crescent Rose. Her sniper scythe lay in its compact form on the work table. It had felt a bit sluggish in the last battle, and knowing they likely hadn't seen the end of it yet, she wanted to make sure everything was in prime condition. The white flecks in her vision served to annoy when they obscured a detail she wanted to examine, making the whole process slower.

Well, that and the hangover. She'd barely had the energy to pull on a shirt and pants, foregoing all sorts of fashion sense. These were work clothes and already sported smears of oil, painting and whatever else they'd been used for over the years. Her old ones obviously didn't fit any longer; these had been Yang's, which explained the yellow.

A hand smacked onto the table beside her.

"Gwah!?" Ruby jumped aside, raising the oil canister as if to spray the intruder, but another hand grabbed her wrist before she could get that far.

"Relax, Rubes! Jeez, you really get absorbed in your work in here." Yang grinned at her, in her own set of loose pants that screamed 'off duty!'. They had no guard duty this morning and no new orders had come through yet, though Blake had been summoned to meet with the council earlier. A task no one envied her for.

"I was just thinking," Ruby protested and yanked her hand free, returning to work on Crescent Rose. "I didn't hear you come in."

"Thinking? That's new." Yang jumped onto the table and sat there beside the wall of tools. Yang used the shed to work on Bumblebee and Ember Celica, Ruby used it for Crescent Rose, and they'd had more sibling fights in here than she could count. Whether it be over a tool placed on the wrong rack or Yang taking too much space or whatever else, they'd fought over it.

"Ha. Ha." Ruby sat the oil canister away with a resolute clink, and pulled a breath to battle down the dizziness.

"Awww, what's got my lil' baby sis all miffed in her panties today, huh? Still got a hangover?"

"That's _your_ fault, you know!"

"Ooor you just can't wait to go out and kill some Grimm? All lazer eyes fyoooo swaaaang baaaaaam~"

"No." Ruby tried to sound determined. "I don't think about that _all_ the time."

"But you do love it." She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

Ruby groaned loudly and resolutely set to test Crescent Rose's foldout functions. Why was it so _hard_ to _see straight_? "Do you _have_ to be a pain? What do you want, anyway?"

"My big sis senses were tingling. You doin' fine?"

"I _was_ until you came along."

"Awww, I love you too. Obsessing over your weapon's always been a telltale sign in my book. Come on, Rubes. Dad told us he'd be in touch once he's met up with uncle Qrow. Just try and relax, okay?"

Suddenly, Ruby slammed her scythe into the table and hunched her shoulders up. "I'm _trying_! I'm trying, but I can't stop thinking and I'm – I'm so mad! I-I know you were looking forward to go with Blake and Sun and help the White Fang – a-and Weiss needs to help everyone back in Atlas – everyone was looking forward to finally have peace! But then I went and screwed up everything and now we're stuck in this weird situation and no one knows what's going on and everything's _shit_!" She winced as a stab of pain pierced through her head, flooding her eyes with white specks.

"Ruby, what – Ruby!" Yang lunged forward and grabbed her by the arm. Overcome with nausea Ruby dropped to her knees, trying to breathe through the stabs to her brain. Someone – Yang – was beside her, supporting her, talking to her, though she couldn't seem to piece the words together.

XXX

The storm had grown over the night. Black clouds rolled above them like lazy fumes of smoke. In ley of awaiting new orders, Weiss had taken Taiyang up on the offer and spent her headache-filled morning lounging on the porch, in a comfortable fur-laced rocking chair. The man had even supplied her with a warm cup of coffee, and of course a large glass of milk, before he left for Signal. The coffee was good, at least.

It was a peaceful home, surrounded by woods, so unlike the mansion she'd grown up in. Yang had complained it was boring, but Ruby loved it. Weiss could see why. She imagined waking up every morning to the sound of chirping birds and the sun through the windows, as opposed to vicious winds and snow. Eating breakfast with someone whose smile could light a campfire as opposed to having no company at all.

Nothing she'd ever have, if she chased the decision she'd made. Not for a long while, anyway.

So instead she'd enjoy the tranquility while she could. At least it _had_ been tranquil until she noticed the storm spreading above them. It must already be covering most of Patch. She couldn't explain why it made her feel uneasy, it was just a storm… but it wasn't _just_ a storm, was it? It'd appeared after the dragon died, like some sort of lingering ghost looking to exact its revenge upon Vale. Would it vanish once they killed all the Grimm? Or…

There was a flash of lightning within the darkness, briefly lighting up the ominous sky.

"Weiss! _Weiss_!" Yang's frantic yells pulled her to her feet in an instant.

XXX

Yang carried Ruby inside – it wasn't like she needed help lifting her sister, but she did need someone to stay calm in face of her own panic. Weiss hadn't seen the blonde this disturbed since they'd marched on Salem's domain.

"Ruby! Come on!" Yang wouldn't even let her sister lie in peace on the couch, so Weiss pulled her by the arm to the kitchen.

"Yelling at her doesn't help."

"But she just collapsed!"

"And yelling _still_ doesn't help." Weiss handed Yang a tray and began loading it with whatever she could find, which included a bowl of cookies from last night, a box of strawberries from the fridge, a large glass of milk and two cups of coffee. Tasked with carrying all of that without spilling anything, at least Yang had to calm down a notch.

By the time they came back into the living room, Ruby was already getting up. Yang hurried to put the tray down and went to fuss over her sister, but for once didn't immediately glomp her.

"Ruby, please explain what's going on." Weiss folded her arms and adopted her most intimidating face, which instantly made Ruby's eyes flicker from side to side. "And don't give me any jokes about a hangover, because we all know this has nothing to do with alcohol. You've bled all over your shirt."

Ruby looked down with a start. "Oh…"

With some effort, Weiss managed to calm her voice. "Ruby… what's wrong? You get nose bleeds all the time and now you're collapsing randomly. And don't pretend it's nothing!"

Ruby lowered her gaze to stare at the couch. "I, I don't know. It's just that, every time I use my powers, I get a nosebleed. I think I… I think it's because of Salem. I might have overexerted myself, it… it was a mess…"

Both of the others fell silent in solemn memory, until Yang suddenly jerked and shook her head, slammed her hands into the table and drilled Ruby with a fierce glare.

"Don't even talk. About her. Never again. It's over, Ruby! You did great! This is _not_ your fault!"

"What?" Weiss asked, shaking herself out of that cold memory as well.

"Ruby thinks it's her fault the Grimm are flooding Vale."

Weiss' expression fell flat. "That's ridiculous."

Yang turned on Ruby. "Look, even Ice Queen agrees with me! That _never_ happens!"

"Look, I _get it_ ," Ruby growled, falling back into the couch with an exasperated groan. "But I can't help how I feel! There has to be something I can _do_."

"Ruby, you're not supposed to fix every—"

"Then what's the point!?" Ruby threw her arms up. "I have all these special powers and anti-Grimm magic or whatever and I can't even stop my own home from being taken away!?"

"We're going to fight back the Grimm, Vale's not going to vanish, sis! They're already on the brink of extinction, we just have to keep whooping their butts!"

Ruby narrowed her eyes. "Then what about Russel?"

Yang wanted to say something like 'who cares about him?' but managed to bite her tongue in time.

"He became a Grimm, Yang! What if that's what's going to happen to all of us? What if this _isn't_ the end of the Grimm at all? We don't even know what that storm is!"

Ruby stood. Her expression was hard and determined, and she refused to look at any of them. "I'm going to Signal. I'm not going to sit around and wait, I'm—" she cut off with a wince, put a hand to her head, and Yang reached out. Ruby swatted her hand away. "Leave me alone!"

Weiss didn't like where this was going, and neither did Yang, judging by her downtrodden expression. It gave far too many flashbacks to a time where the sisters had been completely unable to see eye to eye.

"Wait, Ruby." Weiss stood, and Ruby turned, a glare full of tears levelled at her. Weiss met her gaze steadily. "I'm going with you."

The redhead's face eased up in surprise.

"You – you will?"

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Well _duh._ You think we're going to sit around and wait while you go off on your own?"

Ruby looked from Weiss to Yang. Her older sister forced a grin onto her face.

"'Course! If there's any butt whopping to do, I'm in! And I'll go ahead and vouch for Blake too!"

"You guys…" Ruby started, and then put a hand to her head, eyes watering up. "I'm – I'm sorry. I dunno why I got so mad, I just—"

Yang hugged her before she could finish. "Things _will_ get better. I promise."

Weiss frowned. "Please, Yang. Don't jinx us anymore."

* * *

 **We get some more insight into what's going on in Ruby's head. And the Vale council expects results.**

 **This is an instance where I'm not so happy with the flow of the chapter. If I were to do a complete rewrite, I'd have changed a few things around - but instead of doing so, I want to focus on writing new and bigger stories. English is not my primary language and RWBY was a new setting for me upon writing this, plus it's been a while since I wrote a complete story. So I wanted to start "easy" and work my way up, just to get a feel of the process again. (Who am I fooling, writing is never easy)**

 **Of course I just had to try a new "style" as well since I'm apparently a masochist.**

 **Please leave a review if you like what you read or have any comments regarding the writing! Feedback is my breakfast, lunch and dinner.**


	8. Chapter 8: Pressure

**Beta:** Skarlashka

* * *

 **Chapter 8: Pressure**

By the time they reached Signal, heavy rain pelted them from above. It soaked through anything, like this was nature's attempt at cleaning the world.

They had barely dried up a little inside the school when Blake and the others returned from their meeting. As usual, they gathered in the headmaster's office for a private discussion. It was the only room in the building where no one was in danger of hearing something they shouldn't. The headmaster himself was not present, nor was Glynda. Apparently, there was a high demand to find room for even more refugees after yesterday's catastrophe. That left Qrow, Oscar and Blake to fill in the rest of team RWBY. Taiyang joined them too, fresh from combat class.

Blake stood at the very back of the room, leaning against the wall with her arms folded and a scowl on her face. Weiss' and Taiyang's expressions weren't that much different after listening to what Qrow had to say.

"That's their plan?" Weiss asked, raising the question everyone had after hearing Qrow's summary.

Ruby rubbed her neck. "It _is_ logical, I guess…"

"Are you mad?" Weiss hissed. "It's suicide!"

"Well, do you have a better plan?"

"No, I don't!" Which of course was part of her dislike to the whole thing. Why couldn't _anything_ just… go their way, for _once_? They'd already come this far and frankly, she didn't have _time_!

While Weiss fumed silently, Yang turned towards her partner. "Blake, what's your…?" She only caught Blake's back as the cat faunus strode out of the room, slamming the door behind her. "Oooooh-kay."

"Qrow," Taiyang spoke up in clear displeasure, "you _know_ what they're asking us to do. Sending Ruby and Yang out together is way too risky. I won't put any of my girls in that sort of danger."

"I know," Qrow said, "which is why I'd much rather have Ice Queen accompany Ruby."

"Me?" Weiss blinked.

"You're her partner, you have more experience working together. Besides, you won't get ripped into pieces by those silver eyes." Qrow pointed at his own eyes, and Weiss clenched her jaw. That risk was exactly what she'd reacted to in the first place. Naturally, she was no maiden, and letting Ruby go on her own was beyond insane. Qrow's decision made sense.

It just felt like it wouldn't be enough.

"You two will be heading out in front of the search and rescue squad," Qrow sounded tired, much more than Weiss had heard him before. Maybe he too had finally begun looking forward, when things blew up in their faces once again. "Your main objective is to keep the Grimm in Forever Fall busy while the rescue squad does their job in Vale."

"What about the rest of us?" Yang asked.

"Like the council stated, we need reinforcements sooner rather than later. We'll give your sister and her partner enough time to cause a stir and grab as much attention as they can, hopefully drawing Grimm away from Beacon too. Then, you and catgirl and your White Fang friends will move in and install the new transmitter at Beacon tower. Everyone else is going to have their hands full looking for survivors and defending Vale, so..."

It sounded like suicide.

For once, Ruby did look worried. "Uncle Qrow, do we really have to do what the council says? I get that we need to wipe out the Grimm, and that contacting Atlas for reinforcements is the best way to do so, but can't we do like we did when we faced Salem? If we're all together, we'd be able to do much more!"

A silent hush passed through the room as the memories of that battle crawled out of the pits in their minds.

"While going in on a unified front would be the safest bet for all of us individually, it's not ideal as a whole," Qrow said, breaking the uneasy silence. "And the situation isn't the same, either. For one, Salem's not here to mess everything up. And we're in a defensive position this time, which calls for different tactics. What if we sent all our strongest fighters to Forever Fall, or to Beacon, and the Grimm decided to attack through Emerald Forest in the meantime?"

"Oh…" Ruby looked down.

Qrow glanced at Taiyang. They shared a look, Taiyang frowned, Qrow sighed, and somehow, they seemed to reach an agreement.

"There's also… the matter of the storm," Qrow said tiredly. "We believe… or rather, Oobleck believes, that the storm is in fact the remains of the Grimm dragon, and that anyone who sustains an open wound risks the same fate as Russel Thrush."

They were all stunned into silence. Weiss' mind raced with the implications this raised. Deep inside, she'd suspected something like it, even though it sounded too farfetched to be true. Maybe because the endgame changed completely with this complication. Even if all the Grimm were to be wiped out, what could they do to a storm?

Perhaps, if the maidens worked together… but right now, the only one they had was Yang. Was there even any chance she could command enough power to affect the storm on her own?

Speaking of Yang; "You have to be kidding me," the blonde muttered, and one glance at her eyes revealed just how much she despised the new information. They flickered into red as her clenched hand began crackling with energy.

But apparently, even she knew that punching a hole in the wall would solve nothing, or maybe there was just no energy left to spend on it. It was like everyone in the room had just had their souls sucked out by the Grimm.

"Alright," Qrow said in the quiet that followed, "you guys go on and prepare yourselves. Me an' Tai will grab hold of Kong and work out the details. Stay close, we might need to call on you within short notice."

Although it felt like so many things were left unsaid, they shuffled out into the hallway. Once the door to the office closed behind them, Yang pulled a deep breath, and looked at the ceiling.

"I'll go see Blake."

As Yang took off, Weiss allowed herself a grumble. "I can't believe this. This was to be a straightforward operation, retake Beacon tower, install transmitter, call in reinforcements from Atlas and wipe out the remaining Grimm. Not... this." She rolled her eyes with an exasperated huff, and then put a hand to her head. "I'm... going to find Oobleck. Surely there's more to this situation than we know. I refuse to let this be it. And you!" She shot a glare at Ruby. "Don't do anything stupid! You need rest more than anything! Who knows _what_ we'll need to do in that forest, I won't have you collapsing on me again!"

"Uuuh…" Ruby grinned sheepishly. "I was thinking maybe I'd just clean Crescent Rose or something… again…"

"Good." Weiss marched off, leaving Ruby to sigh and hang her shoulders. She itched to go out there and do _something_ other than wait around. No matter what Weiss or Yang said, this was at least partly her fault for not taking properly care of that dragon. Even now, there were aspects of her power she didn't completely grasp.

"Gaah, this sucks!"

"Um," a timid voice spoke up, and Ruby turned around in surprise.

"Oh, Oscar! Sorry, I completely forgot about you!"

He winced, then glanced at the floor, rubbing his neck. "That's okay… Um… I-If you don't mind, maybe we could… if you don't mind, I mean, um, there's something…" his voice became lower and lower, and his face turned redder and redder.

"What?" Ruby cocked her head.

"Um, uh, f-forget it, sorry, I just thought – it was stupid." He hurriedly backtracked, but Ruby hardly noticed. She'd seen the cane at his hip and had an idea.

"Hey, wanna spar?"

"Huh?"

"It's been a while since I saw you fight! Wanna go at it?"

He looked like he might faint. "S-Sure!"

XXX

The rain hammered against the roof above Blake's vantage point. Normally she'd have preferred to sit at the edge of the roof, but with this weather she'd taken to curl up under the cover of the clock tower instead. The tower made out Signal Academy's tallest point, and the view from up there had to be spectacular. Yet here she was, huddled underneath it.

She'd pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around them, scowling at the terrible weather. Refusing to think about all the _other_ things churning in the back of her mind.

"Wahoooo!" A very distinctive voice accompanied a blast of shotgun shells, and a blonde blur shot up the side of the building. With the grace of a tiger she landed on the tiles in a forward roll and immediately slipped on the surface.

"Woah!" Yang slammed into the roof and slid back down towards the edge at blazing speed. Only by digging her fingers into the cracks between the tiles did she barely avoid to fall back down where she came.

She had the audacity to look at Blake for help. "Um, Blake?"

Blake rolled her eyes, grabbed Gambol Shroud and propelled it past Yang with a single gunshot, embedding the sharp hook into the roof and suspending the ribbon between them. The blonde, blinking at nearly having her face skewered by the blade, took a hold of the ribbon.

"Thanks, partner. So, what's up with the mopey face?" She pulled herself up to sit beside Blake, and yanked the weapon free for Blake to gather back up.

"Isn't it obvious?" Blake growled, aggressively pulling the gun back to her.

"Lemme see, Grimm dragon not really dead maybe, Sun's not here, suicide mission to Beacon, I can go on?"

Blake scowled.

"Come on Blake. You know I'm here for you."

It took a few moments, but then Blake's ears drooped. "At first, it was the council's plan. I don't like how they are so nonchalant about putting huntresses and huntsmen in so much danger. It's like they only think about the civilians."

"Well, that's kinda their job, isn't it?" Yang rolled her shoulder.

"I _know_! And… I don't have a better idea either. Which is why I can't do anything but hide up here and…"

"Mope?"

Blake groaned in exasperation. "Don't tell me you're fine with this? You _know_ it's never going to work! Sending you and your sister out together is completely ridiculous!"

"Awww, are you worried? For _me_?"

Blake growled. "Maybe I am. Ruby too, but… you know."

Yang snaked an arm around her shoulders and pulled the other girl closer. "That's so sweeet~"

Blake hmph'ed, but didn't pull away from the embrace. Yang's touch added a welcome warmth in the cold rain. If anything, she wanted to snuggle closer. Whatever circumstances they found themselves in, Yang had always been there to pull her through it. She was even the main instigator behind Sun and Blake finally getting together. Blake had never had a friend like Yang. In… more ways than one.

"There's no reason to be worried, though," Yang continued in a more somber tone. "Uncle Qrow already suggested we trade me for Weiss on the Ruby-thing."

Blake blinked. "He did?"

"He might be drunk, but he's not stupid. Soooo I was thinking, if you don't have any other ideas, I'd attach myself to you instead."

Amber eyes narrowed. "That sounds gross."

Yang grinned cheekily and prodded her side with a finger. "You're hot when you're mad."

"Stop it." Blake swatted her hand away.

"No seriously, it's like you get this extra sway in your hips, and your scent amplifies or something." Yang leaned closer to the frowning Blake, lowering her voice so it was barely discernable over the sound of the rain. "It's like you're trying to attract blondes or something. Just know that it works, cause it turns me on~"

A slow smile spread over Blake's lips. "Oh, _really_?"

"All true. So what are you going to do about it, officer Belladonna?" Yang's hand was slithering across Blake's stomach, filling her with an almost unrestrained desire.

"Let me see, first I need to get over this absolute shock that Yang Xiao Long has been turned on by a girl."

Before she knew it, Yang slung one leg across Blake's waist so that they sat face to face. Blood rushed to Blake's face, only increasing when Yang grabbed her arms and leaned forward, touching their foreheads together.

"Not just _any_ girl. Blake Belladonna, you're a very _bad_ girl."

"I'm not the one straddling a teammate."

"You _are_ the one entertaining more than one partner tho." Yang's eyes glinted of humor, and Blake's ears flicked suddenly as she scowled.

"What Sun doesn't know doesn't hurt him."

"Oh, he knows."

"What!?"

"I mayyy have sent him a pic or two."

"What? When? What kind of pictures? Yang!" Blake struggled to get free, but there was no winning against Yang. The blonde's breath brushed over Blake's lips, causing her to flush a bright red.

"Relax, kitten. That was wayyy back. And for the record, he nearly lost his shit. He may have accidentally admitted that he found it all verrrrry hot~"

Yang shifted, still trapping Blake beneath her. The movement brought a friction which caused Blake's body to feel numb. With her heart racing, Blake rolled her eyes. Of course those two idiots would bond over something like that.

"You're insufferable."

"And verrrry turned on."

Blake snorted, then glanced off, all of the warmth ebbing out. "There's... more."

"Somehow I'm not getting the feeling you're talking about my punishment."

"I... didn't get mad just at the council's plans."

Yang immediately dropped the act and sat back to listen. It was moments like this that made Blake know she'd picked the right partner, back in that forest so long ago. She knew Yang of all people would understand. "When they stood there talking down at me, at the White Fang, and all but told us to die for Vale in order to repent, I just... couldn't help but think. We could just leave. Nothing's binding us to this place, I don't have an _obligation_ to help those men, and put my people in danger for their cause. We're _not_ their soldiers!" For a second her voice rose, and then, it ebbed back out. "And that made me feel terrible. How could I just... leave all of this, knowing what'll happen? Why, after all we've been through, is running away the first thing on my mind?"

That was the real reason she'd marched off, down there. Anger at herself.

"Blake..." Yang's warm hands cupped her cheeks. Even her robot arm felt real when she let the power of Spring encase it in warmth, a small gesture Blake found endearing. "You're not doing this for _them_. Being here, helping Vale, reclaiming Beacon tower... it's for _us_. You, me, Weiss, Ruby, Jaune, Nora, Ren, everyone at Beacon. Everyone in Patch. Everyone who fought in the Grimm wars, and against Salem. It may not have been for long, and we may have done so much more since, but... Beacon was special." She leaned in, hovering her lips inches away from Blake's. "To us, it's where this all started, and it's where it'll all end. You're not running away, Blake. You just have to look at it from the right angle."

For a second, all Blake could do was blink. "That's... suprisingly deep for you."

The glint in her eyes returned. "I have many secrets. You may or may not know of some of them."

"Well in that case…" Blake playfully taunted, "why don't you show me?"

XXX

A whirlwind sped across the sparring arena, filling the air with dissipating rose petals. Oscar swung his weapon and blocked a strike from Crescent Rose, briefly noting Ruby's broad grin – before she twisted around and swung her scythe around her body, smashing it against his guard once more with added momentum. The green shield shimmered to life for a moment before shattering, and the impact sent him flying.

"Guah!" He hit the floor, knocking all air out of him. As he lay there gasping, staring at the ceiling and the numerous lamps criss-crossing there, Ruby's face suddenly appeared above him. She looked excited.

"That was great! You're getting really good with the cane, and you even got that cool shield thing up!"

He could have stared at her like that all day, fascinated by her eyes and how they sparkled with excitement. His heart pounded and he turned his head away to hide his burning cheeks.

"I-I'm practicing a lot, but I'm nowhere near as good as you. Or the others."

"That doesn't matter~" She reached out a hand, and Oscar's face flushed, before he hesitantly gripped it with his own. Ruby pulled him to his feet, and his gaze lingered on their hands until she let go.

Watching as she collapsed Crescent Rose into its compact form, he stammered, "I just… we're basically the same age and all, but you're so much better than me. You're – really amazing."

"Ehehehe, yeaaah I am pretty awesome." She beamed, though her cheeks reddened from the praise. "But I'm nowhere as good as Yang or Blake! Yang's punches doesn't even need to hit you to blow you across the room! And Blake is impossible to hit and that ribbon gets _everywhere_! And don't even get me started on Weiss and her summons, ugh. Plus, we've been training for _oh god so many years_ , I mean, if I wasn't good by now I might as well start a noodle shop. So, once more?" She raised the compact Crescent Rose, all its blades hidden within the metal construct. The weapon never failed to amaze Oscar, and neither did the fact that a girl like Ruby could swing it around so effortlessly. She'd let him try once, for fun, and he had nearly chopped his leg off.

"Ah, I'd love to, but I guess I should probably take a rest." He cradled his arm, which still stung from that last blow. "I don't recover that quickly."

"Oh…" her expression turned somber, and he realized what he'd said.

"Oh no, I'm just tired, that's all!"

Ruby sighed, and smiled. "You don't need to pretend. I know your aura is… well…" she trailed off, and Oscar regretted mentioning it at all.

"Sorry, I… didn't mean to rip into that."

She laughed softly, but her eyes didn't really reflect it. "Kinda hard not to when we're sparring. I just, there's a lot of things I wished had gone differently back then. Um… Your arm though, it seems a lot better."

He rolled his shoulder testingly. "Yeah. Qrow's training really helps. I think, with some help from Ironwood it's going to get much better too. You know… they're pretty far ahead with the entire aura thing. A-Actually, Qrow says it probably saved my life, the fact that we weren't completely m-merged yet. When, um…" he trailed off too.

Ruby didn't even look at him, and it took a while before she said anything. "Do you miss him?"

Oscar's head drooped. "Yeah. I mean, he was annoying, but… he was always _there_. I never had to deal with any of this on my own, and I guess I grew kind of dependent on him. But you shouldn't feel bad, Ruby! He always spoke very highly of you! It – it was all because of Salem…" and there was another topic they'd both rather avoid. He could still feel it, that crippling terror in face of the Wicked Witch, creeping cold flooding his veins and slowly paralyzing him while Ruby desperately struggled in her grasp—he shook his head.

Ruby didn't seem encouraged at all, rather seemed to shrink into her cloak, if that was even possible. Oscar acted before he could think, stepping up to her and putting a hand on her shoulder. Once, she'd been taller than him, but now he'd gained on her by a few inches. It felt odd, but also made him feel like he needed to man up, like Qrow used to tell him. Remembering the man's constant nagging about posture, Oscar pulled himself up.

"Ruby, I—"

"Oooooh, you guys gonna spar? Let us watch!"

A high-pitched voice interrupted him and made Oscar pull his shoulders up and grit his teeth in annoyance. He turned to the doors, annoyed enough to grunt a protest. "Excuse me, we were _talking_."

"What?" The pink-haired hammer-wielding crazy girl grimaced. "Booooooring! The arena is for _fighting_ , not _talking_." She was right of course. Even though most of the school was used for refugees, Oscar had seen both Qrow and Taiyang training people - both teenagrs and adults - in fighting Grimm by using this arena. According to Qrow, it wasn't as much an education for huntsmen and huntresses as it was simply pure necessity for the defense of Vale.

But that didn't mean he couldn't talk to Ruby, did it!?

"Nora!" Ruby immediately perked up though, and when Jaune and Ren stumbled in after Nora, Oscar realized the battle was lost and let out a sigh.

Ruby skipped forward to give Nora a hug, nearly pulling the other girl off the floor.

"You're back!"

"Of course, dummy! We'd never let a bunch of _Grimm_ stop us, right Ren?" The bubbly girl looked at her boyfriend. Ren leaned on his knees, and despite the scars criss-crossing across his face that told a story of destructive battles, he looked far from ready for one now. Jaune was already on his hands and knees behind him.

"Nora," Ren breathed, even as Nora swung her hammer up to rest on her shoulder. "We just got back. Can we at least eat before going into sparring practice?"

"And sleep," Jaune groaned from the floor.

Nora rolled her eyes at Ruby. "These guys are _hopeless_."

"They do look kind of tired." Ruby shrugged with a smile. "Did you stay up and fight all night?"

"Nah, you guys cleared out all the big ones so we just kept watch for the most part. But we defended those crops with _our lives_." Nora's fierce expression sent a shudder down Oscar's spine.

"I guess food is kind of important to protect," Ruby pondered, tapping a finger to her chin.

"You betcha! Without crops there'd be no flour, and without flour there'd be no pancakes!" Nora grabbed Ruby by the collar and yanked her close. " _NO. PANCAKES._ "

"Um, that'd be kind of terrible."

Nora looked incredibly pleased at that answer and let Ruby go. "That's right. So we better be in top shape for the next round of Grimm! Let's start hammering, boys!"

Two sets of groans answered her beckoning.

Ruby looked at Oscar and smiled, causing his heart to jump a mile. "Do you wanna watch or should we go grab a bite?"

"Ah, eh, um, I, er, maybe?" He sputtered uselessly. Nora, who was on her way to the sparring ring, put a hand on his arm as she passed.

"That's as good as her asking you on a date, you know. Remember, she's _kind of_ _dense_."

"E-Eeeeeeeh?" Oscar's face became as dark as his freckles – her whisper was _so loud!_ Luckily, Ruby was already by Jaune's side, helping him up, and didn't appear to have heard anything. Ren, however, was gazing intently at Oscar and when their eyes met, the man smiled and shrugged, which somehow made it even worse. _What does that even mean!?_

"Alright, you two dropouts!" Nora yelled, and then her tone became threatening. "Who wanna get their ass whooped first?"

"I believe we're technically _all_ dropouts, Nora," Ren said.

Jaune, who was leaning on Ruby's shoulder, raised a shaking hand. "I'll go first."

XXX

Like Beacon, Signal Academy also consisted of multiple buildings on campus, though in a much smaller scale. There was an entire building which functioned as a forge, complete with what must be Remnant's largest chimney.

Weiss had yet to actually see the place, but the forge itself was not her objective either way. True, seeing the place where weapons like Crescent Rose and Ember Celica had been born would be interesting any other day. But the forge served another function these days.

Thanks to the dwindle of new students, they no longer needed the two classrooms accompanying the forge, and these rooms had been refurbished and repurposed and now acted as a laboratory.

As she crossed the courtyard, huddling into her jacket while the rain pelted down and wondering if she'd ever feel dry again, someone bumped into her shoulder. It took a moment before Weiss realized it was Velvet Scarlatina, whom Weiss hadn't seen in ages, and who didn't even look up as she fled towards the school.

Was she crying?

Shortly after, a stone-faced Yatsuhashi passed by as well. The man had become even more massive since she last saw him. He nodded once at Weiss before following his partner.

 _That was… strange._ Momentarily unsettled by the display, Weiss cautiously continued her trek to the forge. Heat flushed against her upon entering, and the sounds of a hammer on anvil rang throughout the room. The headmaster of Signal stood with his back to her, massive back muscles flexing as he swung a hammer, shaping what looked to be a blade. Metal, from a Schnee mine maybe, or whatever remained of Signal's own resources. How many more blades could he make before they ran out?

She wanted to ask, but she didn't want to know. _It doesn't matter, this will be over before the week's end. It has to. Because…_ she had to go back. The thought made her feel guilty, so she hurried onwards, already choking on the excessive heat blasting the room.

She walked down a hallway towards the classrooms which acted as Oobleck's new playground. The first door she reached stood open, and it didn't take long to find the green-haired man. The room seemed to function solely as an office. It held shelf upon shelf with stacks of papers, wall-mounted diagrams and drawings of Grimm, several whom Weiss recognized from professor Port's classroom back at Beacon. There were two desks in the room, and Oobleck currently sat by one of them, studying something through a microscope.

On the floor beside the other desk sat Coco Adel, knees drawn up and forehead planted into them.

Weiss' heart clenched heavily at the state of team CFVY. Whatever had happened had gotten to them hard. _This is exactly the kind of situation we want to avoid!_ Filled with determination and wiping sweat from her forehead, she knocked on the open door to catch Oobleck's attention.

"Ah, yes yes miss Schnee, please come in."

She did, careful not to step on any of the folders lying on the floor just inside the entrance. It looked like someone had gone through a fit of rage in here, and even pushed over a bookshelf in their anger.

Coco didn't even raise her head, and feeling that the girl needed time alone, Weiss focused on Oobleck instead. Folding her hands in front of her, she cleared her throat.

"Doctor Oobleck, if I may…"

"Aaaaah yes, see, miss Schnee, you came at just the right time. I've made significant strides in my work here today, thanks in no small part to the efforts of team CFVY."

She glanced at Coco again, feeling her throat dry up at the silence.

"…actually, I came because of... the storm. Qrow said something worrying and I was wondering if you could clarify. Is… is it true?"

Instead of answering, he waved her closer. "Come, come, see for yourself."

Still not sure she actually wanted to know, but feeling the need to, Weiss reluctantly stepped forward to his desk.

"Look here, through the microscope."

"Okay…" Trying to mentally prepare herself for whatever it was she was going to see, she leaned down and peered through the eyepiece. What she saw was… worms…? Something pink, which looked like bubbles stuck to each other in a wiggly line, some moving and some lazily floating around. Every now and then, a black one floated past as well. "And… what am I looking at, exactly?"

"This, my dear girl, is a blood sample from mister Fox Alistair, a fellow huntsman of ours."

Well, that was disturbingly intimate.

"You see the pink dots, yes? Those are human blood cells."

Part nauseated and part fascinated, Weiss asked, "What about the black dots?"

"Ah, you see, that's it exactly. Take a look at this." He quickly swapped something beneath the microscope, a tiny cup, she realized. Once she saw it from a normal perspective, it didn't look any different from normal blood.

"Take another look, miss Schnee."

She did reluctantly, and immediately saw the difference. "The black dots are far more numerous."

"Exactly right, dear girl. What you're looking at right now is blood taken this morning, and it seems the process has already sped along quite a lot since just last night. When removed from the body the process completely stops, suggesting nothing happens without the presence of a soul. Quite fascinating indeed."

"Wait, what process? Is this… what happened to Russel?" Weiss pulled back, horrified. "And… Fox?" Suddenly, it made sense. Velvet crying, Coco sitting there like she was dead to the world. They'd been out there, fighting in the northern districts just like them. And this had happened.

"He was brought into my possession last night, by the rest of his team. An admirable job, if I say so myself."

Oobleck stood and gestured for her to follow. While her legs would rather stay put, she couldn't stop now. She had to know what Oobleck was on about. With one lingering look at the silent Coco, Weiss left the office and followed Oobleck down the hallway.

"But what does this mean? Is this – is he sick?" The word immediately brought her thoughts back to Atlas.

"That's certainly one way to look at it." Oobleck stopped outside a row of windows lining the hall, but rather than the outside, they all opened into a second classroom. Weiss took one look inside and froze on the spot. The room was full of empty cages, chains and ropes, reminiscent of the ones she'd seen professor Port use to catch Grimm for his classes back in Beacon. The room was otherwise empty save for a single person. Or what used to be a person. The face still had a resemblance of human to it, mainly because it had no mask. But the bone-white spikes jutting from his arms and forming a skeleton cage around his torso, made all doubt obsolete.

"It is an infection, which causes a mutation in the body," Oobleck stated.

The Grimm that used to be Fox Alistair turned its head towards them and struggled to raise its arms. No such luck though, with them chained to a contraption in the wall. That was for the best, since Weiss had no doubt those claws were as long as her legs and could probably slice through them too.

"That's just like what happened to Russel," Weiss said breathlessly. Suddenly, it felt more real. This shouldn't be possible. Not now! How were they supposed to - to fight _this_?

"Clever observation, my dear girl! He was infected yesterday evening and his mutation is already this far along. I believe only a fragment of his consciousness remain at this point. He's holding on, desperately so, but I'm afraid it's only a matter of time."

"What _is_ this… this infection?"

"If my theory is correct, it stems from the remains of the dragon which turned into quite a large amount of dust. Instead of instantly disappearing like we're used to, it grew into a vicious thunderstorm. Now if this dust is to come in contact with our blood system through an open wound for instance, it may start acting like its Grimm counterpart and begin a slow and painful devouring of our soul."

The only thing Weiss managed to do with all that information was to panic. "That's terrible!"

"Indeed quite so!" He raised a finger. "I am currently working on determining how this infection spreads throughout the body, which is why I'm taking blood samples to observe the development in an isolated manner! Only once we understand, can we start looking at the possibility for a cure. By all hope, we will find one in time."

Weiss felt overwhelmed. To think there really was something like this going on, right when they thought everything would be over. She shook her head and clenched her hands. No! She would not let this get her down!

"Is there some way we can help? I mean, besides setting up the transmitter and get help…"

"Sadly, I do not know what that would be, miss Schnee, unless you can find a way to dispatch the Grimm without killing them."

"What?"

"What do you think is making it possible for the storm to continue to grow?"

She opened her mouth, then paused, and stared into the room. The Grimm had just rattled the chains again, and now it started pulling with all its might until the metal gave in. The chains were ripped right out of the wall and clattered to the floor, still attached to the beast's wrists.

"Oh dear."

The Grimm, now free of its constraints, stood on its inhuman hind legs and roared at the ceiling. Then, a loud noise began ringing from the outside. It was a sound Weiss was way too familiar with.

"The alarm!?"

Oobleck adjusted his tie. "They're here."

* * *

 **Can the situation get any worse for our heroes? Wait, don't answer that.**

 **Poor Oscar, you can do iiiiit~ I'm looking forward to see how they use him as a character onwards in the series. Personally, I just can't help but picture him having a one-sided crush on Ruby. And when your crush carries around a giant gun-scythe and smites Grimm as a hobby and is dubbed the hero of Remnant I can understand your nervousness.**

 **Truna:** Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts, it is really valuable to me! Weiss has grown a lot on me as well, I'm surprised how often I fall back on her point of view when I write. Romance is not the up and center focus of this story, but what you've deduced is not far from what I was thinking while writing chapter 6. (I am a lesbian at heart after all). Weiss and Ruby have such an interesting dynamic whether romance is the main theme or not!

 **Vinny:** Wow good catch on seeing the difference from my Railgun stories! I did try to change the style here what with RWBY opening for quite a different feel and tone. I seem to make quite a mess out of the POV, but it's definitely been a learning experience and I hope to improve even more with my next story.

 **Everyone else:** Thanks a lot for all of your feedback!


	9. Chapter 9: Tainted

**This is unbetaed.**

* * *

 **Chapter 9: Tainted**

Ruby staggered and leaned on the wall as a wave of dizziness struck her. White flecks washed across her vision like a flurry of wild snowflakes, almost blinding her.

"Ruby?" Oscar turned to look at her.

And then the alarm went off and Ruby was gone. Dread filled every inch of her body as she burst out the main entrance of Signal and stopped in the drenched courtyard. Rain pelted against her face and soaked her hair in seconds, but she only stared up in horror.

If yesterday had been the ground invasion, this must be the aerial equivalent. Griffons, nevermores, wyverns and numerous species of which some didn't even have a name filled the sky, screeching and screaming so her bones quaked.

"No way…what about Vale…?"

Nobody had expected an attack on Signal as long as Vale stood. But even with their borders guarded by heavy cannons, firearms, huntsmen and soldiers, they couldn't kill everything. Now they were here, and there was only one simple truth to that.

They had to fight.

Ruby pulled out Crescent Rose, bent her knees and gathered all of her strength into her legs. With a force so great it tore the ground apart in her wake, she shot into the sky. Her trajectory took her directly into the flight path of a griffon, whose head separated from its body an instant later. Ruby fired her scythe for more speed, until it felt like her skin would be pulled from her face. A giant nevermore screeched at her and she hooked Crescent Rose into its wing, tearing it apart and sliding to a halt on its black feathery back. The nevermore wailed and started falling, but not before another griffon tried to grab Ruby in its claws – only to vanish in a burst of silvery flames.

The tug on her head made her feel weightless for a moment. For a moment, every other soul nearby lit up like torches within the darkness. Fellow humans within Signal, those whose aura had not been activated like the soft glow of embers, and huntsmen sparkling like living flames. The Grimm stood out among them as pitch black silhouettes, not even shadows; just black holes in reality, looking for light to devour.

Several more griffons screeched and made a wide berth to avoid her. Normally, they fed on the souls of humans, but whenever Ruby unleashed hers, even the ravenous creatures of Grimm were overwhelmed.

Ruby jumped from the nevermore's back and up into the air, winds pulling at her clothes and threatening to throw her aside. A trickle of blood trailed towards her upper lip. There were still so many Grimm left. If she wanted to risk the consequences she could take a large number of them out in a single blow, but throwing herself into a coma was hardly a great strategy, knowing how much more lay in wait for them.

So she fought using more conventional means. A wyvern approached and her gaze hardened. She used Crescent Rose to propel herself towards the Grimm. It roared in her direction, but Ruby latched her scythe onto its long neck and spun around once.

With a single push of the trigger her scythe tore through the Grimm's long neck, shattering bone armour and tearing through the skin like butter. The snake-like body cramped and fell a few feet before it began disintegrating, leaving Ruby to hunt down the next target.

She didn't need to think. She only had to kill.

XXX

The window between Weiss, Oobleck and the Grimm that used to be Fox Alaistar didn't last more than a single strike. Shattered glass spilled into the hallway while Weiss pulled out her rapier, summoning glyphs to trap the Grimm in its place. She pulled Myrtenaster back, only for her arm to be grabbed.

"Don't!"

"Coco?"

"Don't kill him, please!" The senior huntress looked pleading behind her dark sunglasses. She let go of Weiss' arm, almost in a defeated manner. "Please."

Weiss hesitated for a moment, then spun the barrel on her rapier and thrust the tip of it into the floor. A trail of ice shot over the low wall into the room, capturing the Grimm's feet and quickly growing into a massive frozen wall, separating them from him.

"I'll leave him to you," Weiss said, and Coco wiped her eyes on her sleeve.

"Thanks, Schnee."

"Just don't do anything stupid. Let's go, Oobleck!" Weiss looked back at her old teacher, who put a hand up.

"You go ahead, miss Schnee, I need to take care of some valuable data which we cannot afford to lose. Your first priority should be the refugees – go!"

Weiss nodded once and then sped ahead, occasionally catching the rumble of thunder, or gunshots, or both – it was hard to tell.

As she sped through the main doors, rain hammered against her and a screech immediately had her raise Myrtenaster. The sky teemed with Grimm, and most of their forces were already joining the fight. A group of students, some who were younger than even Ruby and Oscar, fought a griffon. They'd trapped it to the ground using some kind of semblance. Several gunshots were fired against a wyvern whose beam of lightning devastated the courtyard, and several explosions in the sky seemed to originate from Signal's rooftop, where a tornado of light and fire was whipping up, shooting projectiles of fiery bursts of wind at the enemy. The headmaster of Signal stood nearby, raising a massive crossbow which fired bolts the size of his own arms. A single bolt was enough to shred a griffon's torso apart and then the bolt exploded in shards of ice, striking several other Grimm nearby and freezing their joints, sending them to the ground.

Weiss spun on the spot and planted Myrtenaster on the ground, creating a huge glyph that immediately summoned a giant nevermore. Heads turned as the enormous white Grimm climbed out of the glyph like it was entering Remnant from another dimension. It flapped its wings and screeched at its black brethren.

"Go!" Weiss called, and the nevermore took off, soaring into the air and closing its giant beak around a wyvern's snake-like body, neatly snapping it in two.

Meanwhile, Weiss ran towards one of the grounded griffons, summoning her knight in the same go. The knight ran forward and raised its two-handed sword, swinging it at the griffon and tearing its head off.

Leaving her knight to aid others in the area and with her nevermore engaging foes in the sky, Weiss launched herself onward to her next target. She stayed near ground level, nowhere crazy enough to try and go higher. A single nevermore sat perched on the wall of the school. She changed her route towards it when a griffon swooped in from her side.

She had barely just turned towards it when the beast was consumed in a burst of white flames. Ruby landed on its head moments later, kicking it down before flipping to land on the ground herself.

"Weiss, you alright?" She called up.

"Kill something else!" Weiss yelled as she shot past on her glyphs, only slightly annoyed. There were others who needed far more help!

The nevermore she'd singled out shrieked and made to lift itself into the air. Weiss shot two rounds of ice dust from the rapier, trapping its feet to the surface. A few more glyphs and she zipped about its head like a wasp, puncturing its eyes. A single gravity glyph punched its head down towards the ground, forcing the entire body to bend unnaturally since its feet were still trapped in ice. Then Weiss changed the barrel on Myrtenaster to fire dust and propelled herself downward, burying her rapier into the nevermore's neck. Fire exploded through the wound and out on the neck's other side, effectively ending its life.

"Yiiiiiiihaaa!" Somewhere, a thunderous sound blasted the air, and Nora's familiar warcry accompanied the shriek of a Grimm.

More black dust swirled upwards, steadily adding to the growing storm. As she landed on the cobblestones and looked up, Weiss felt a pang of worry. Flashes of lightning lit up the sky, drowning every other noise in ominous thunder.

In the very least, they couldn't do anything but fight.

XXX

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Ruby sped from Grimm to Grimm, ending them all in rapid succession before launching herself onwards. She was nothing but a red blur in the heavy rain, decapitating Grimm left and right and occasionally sending one into a burst of flames, wiping her nose on her sleeve.

Somewhere on a rooftop a sudden storm had grown, firing lightning strikes at the Grimm as well as blasts of fire and blinding bursts of light. Ruby stayed well away from that area, knowing to give Yang her space. Blake was probably not far off, and Weiss was handling herself well. Nora, Ren and Jaune had joined Oscar and several other huntsmen to fend off the Grimm coming too close to the school. Even the headmaster was using his awesome crossbow to take out numbers of them all at once.

Between all of them, they were keeping the Grimm off of the school itself, for now at least.

Ruby blasted upwards and tore off a wyvern's wing, sending it spiralling down to ground level where others could finish it off. She turned in time to catch a swipe from a griffon on her scythe handle, which knocked her out of the air.

"Gwah!" She barked out a groan as her back hit the ground, and the griffon landed on top of her a second later, crushing the cobblestones beneath her as its massive paw collided with her torso. White sparks erupted in front of her eyes as lightning shot through her head and Ruby cried out. She blinked madly and saw the griffon lean down, cocking its head and watching her.

Maybe it planned to swallow her gaping maw never came, however. The Grimm didn't swallow her, or even open its beak. It just… stared. Ruby's fingers trembled around the shaft of Crescent Rose, the weapon uselessly trapped beneath the beast's front leg. She stared into the Grimm's soulless eyes, and it peered back.

Was it... curious? Her fingers twitched, and slowly, she raised her hand. Her fingers nearly touched the black beak - and then the Grimm's head violently jerked aside and a roar of rage pierced through the sound of rain. _KABOOM!_ The smash broke its neck and shattered its face, leaving the Grimm to stumble sideways before falling over, uselessly wailing at the sky as its body turned to dust. Ruby slowly sat up, heart hammering, and stared as the thing evaporated.

"Got your back, Ruby!" Nora flexed her arms, coils of lightning coursing around her body and along her warhammer. "That was a close one, you'd have pulled a Yang if it weren't for me!" She bounced ahead and smashed her hammer into the ground, sending a torrent of lightning into another griffon whose wings were weighted down by several ice shards. It shrieked and spasmed, only to be brought down by Ren and Jaune.

Nora stood in front of Ruby with both hands on her hammer, like a bodyguard. "We'll teach 'em what _real fear_ is."

Ruby reached for Crescent Rose, but all of the adrenaline in her body had drained out. She felt numb, had to pull her weight up using the scythe for support, and even when she stood, she felt completely… empty.

Nora engaged another griffon coming for them, but the sounds of her fight was so far off, so detached from Ruby that it felt like she was watching from underwater.

 _What are we doing…?_

The flapping of wings descended, and Ruby watched as a nevermore swooped in from the sky, beak open in a shriek.

 _I'm… not sure… but…_

She gripped Crescent Rose, but the movement was sluggish, as if she couldn't remember how to lift it. She stared at the weapon in confusion, blinking white flecks out of her vision.

 _I should… kill them… and… then what?_

A burst of wind and water struck her body. The nevermore had charged past, right in front of her, right past what should have been its last breath.

It wasn't stopped. Ruby didn't move at all.

 _What should I do after that?_

Nora turned around in surprise, just a little too late.

The beak snapped closed around her midriff. A pink shimmer ran across Nora's body, telling of her depleted aura, and then only clothes and skin stood to challenge the power of the beak. The Grimm didn't let go until Magnhild the warhammer slammed into its head, smashing it into the ground. Nora shrieked in rage and hit the Grimm over and over, reducing its face to a broken mess until it started evaporating like the rest. Then, Nora staggered, grabbed her side, and fell to one knee, grimacing.

A cold rush ran down Ruby's spine. Blood seeped between Nora's fingers despite the strained smile she gave Ruby as their eyes met.

"Drat."

"No…" Ruby muttered.

Nora doubled over, dropped her hammer, and roared in pain as her back convulsed. White bone tore from her clothes into jagged spikes along her spine. Ruby stood there paralyzed while Nora became what she'd just killed.

A buzz grew in her head, like static from a holovision muted in the background.

 _It's a Grimm. Kill it._

Her breathing grew shallow, the grip on Crescent Rose tightening till it hurt.

 _No, that's Nora…_

The static grew till she couldn't hear the rain around her.

 _That is a Grimm. Kill it. That's your job._

It was no longer Nora, the creature in front of her didn't even look like her friend save for the head. Its body twisted and grew, claws and bones jutting in all sickly manners, but it had Nora's face, Nora's hair, Nora's— _it won't have if you remove it._

A scream filled her ears, and it took a moment for Ruby to realize it was from her own throat. In an explosion of speed she charged forward, leaving a torn section of the ground in her wake, scythe swinging at the Grimm's exposed neck.

 _CLANG!_

A metallic sound rang out, jarring her strike to a halt.

It was Oobleck. His weapon against hers, holding it off.

"Miss Rose, we need to get miss Valkyrie into the lab!"

Ruby's rage set loose in a sudden burst. Suddenly, and violently, the buzzing sound exploded into a blinding white force which filled her mind, and she snarled at her former professor. "I have to kill it! I can't fail again!"

Oobleck sped forward, closing the gap between them within the blink of an eye. His hand grabbed her wrist, while the other – having dropped his own weapon already – covered her eyes. He wrenched her arm around, forcing her to drop Crescent Rose.

Ruby reacted with rage and panic. She tried to pry his hand from her face and instead lost her breath from a knee to the stomach. She roared and her vision grew white behind his hand, then she was on the ground, face down. She screamed and kicked out, struggled to pull an arm free and swung it up behind her, hitting something with far too little force to make a difference.

"What's happening?" Someone yelled through the roars of static, and Oobleck's voice answered.

"Get miss Valkyrie out of here right this instant!"

"Nora!? Oh god, what—"

" _NOW,_ mister Arc!"

"What's going on? Ruby?"

"Miss Schnee, please assist Arc right this instant!"

Ruby screamed and cried, her head hammered and every limb pulsated, she felt like she was boiling away from the inside out. Everything was white and burning hot, reaching the boiling point of what her eyes could take. Every gasp of air felt like she was swallowing burning liquid.

" _A pity it has to end to like this,"_ a voice whispered in her ear, and Ruby stopped breathing.

XXX

She didn't even turn around when she spoke. There was no doubt though. This was her: Salem.

"You're right, this is the end. _Your_ end! So why don't you turn around and face me!" Ruby yelled, raising Crescent Rose. Her eyes burned, but she didn't unleash it yet – she wasn't sure how to approach this woman, this _monster_ , and losing consciousness certainly wasn't on top of her list.

To her surprise, Salem did turn. She'd been facing what looked like an altar, but given they were currently standing in what must serve as a dining room, it felt oddly out of place. A large dining table and six bony chairs stood between them.

Several seconds passed where they just looked at each other, and each moment pressed Ruby's anger up another notch.

"You are wounded," Salem stated at last, looking at the wound above Ruby's eye - it had reopened sometime during the battles outside.

Ruby's scowl grew fiercer.

"You are the girl who hurt Cinder. And then took her from me. You… have been a nuisance, haven't you?" The calm in her voice was enough to send chills down Ruby's spine. If she didn't do it now she never would. Ruby gripped her scythe and prepared to charge in – only for her feet to stay stuck to the ground.

 _W-What!?_

Salem approached her, in no hurry at all, gliding along the floor. The amount of trepidation increased by the second, until pure terror fuelled every function in Ruby's body. Salem stretched a hand out and touched her chin and _she couldn't move._

"Untrained, so young and inexperienced. Ozpin has truly let himself sink to an all-time low. Speaking of which. Did he actually send you all by yourself?"

 _He's coming. Him, Oscar, Qrow, everyone, they were just—_ truth was, she'd rushed ahead once an opening presented itself. If only they could end Salem, everything would be over. That's the only thing that mattered.

"I feel for you, child. Pulled into a battle of personal interest you have no hope of solving." Her red eyes glowed eerily, waking some deep form of horror in Ruby's chest. Maybe it was that utter desperation which gave her new strength. Latching onto it, Ruby finally managed to wrench her mouth open.

"Well, _I'm_ the one here!" Her legs shook and her arms strained until she managed to move them just an inch. "And I'm here to _kill you!_ "

It wasn't like Ruby was especially big or terrifying, but her reputation on the battlefield had spread far, according to those who knew stuff like that. Salem, however, only looked mildly intrigued.

"And that is all you ever _can_ do, my dear child. To _him_ , you are nothing more than a tool. A Grimm Reaper, and nothing else. That is, and always will be, your only purpose. Just like _your mother._ "

Ruby screamed and finally forced her arms to move, swinging the scythe at Salem with all her might.

It was stopped by a single hand. Salem gripped her scythe, and Ruby froze again in new terror. Salem's eyes glowed as a small smile formed on her lips.

"So then what will you do once I am gone?"

The woman leaned even closer, until her lips touched Ruby's ear.

" _You may be a Grimm Reaper,"_ Salem's voice whispered in her mind. _"However, I am not the only monster in the room."_

Ruby gasped in a mouthful of air and jerked awake, only to stare at a sky lit by lightning. Instead of the hard ground, her head rested against a shoulder.

"R-Ruby!" Above her, Oscar stared down, and his arms tightened around her. He looked flushed from running and carrying her through the rain. Above his head, a series of solar flares exploded through the sky, creating miniature suns which burned and tore Grimm apart. It was strange though… they weren't trying to attack now, instead they were flying away. The air sizzled and smelled of ozone.

"Are you alright? There was this flash of light and everything lit up! I thought it was you, at first, since it took out most of the Grimm - but the others said it was a lightning strike! In any case…" he glanced up. "Looks like they're leaving."

It was strange, but Ruby still felt relieved. That meant they'd survived, it meant everyone would be safe after all.

 _Everyone…?_

"Ohmygod Nora!" She jerked up, hit his chin with her forehead, Oscar yelped and they both hit the ground in a clumsy heap. Ruby was the first to stand.

"Where is she!?"

"Uh, um, Weiss and the others got her into the lab. I was…" He trailed off when all that was left of Ruby was a shower of petals.

* * *

 **Ruby's doubts and fears are beginning to surface. Can Oobleck save Nora and Fox tho?**

 **If you enjoy this story, check out my newest one: "Shattered Mirror, Poisoned Rose". Mind, it's not for the faint of heart.**


	10. Chapter 10: Tremors

**No beta.**

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Tremors**

Even after the building stopped shaking, Weiss remained on guard, waiting for their doom. That flash of lightning and the ear-deafening thunder it brought with it had been enough to shake her very bones, but the aftermath was eerily silent. She stood with Myrtenaster raised, heart hammering as she waited. Everyone inside the building had frozen in anticipation as well.

And then…

A red blur crashed right into Weiss and knocked her over in a tangle of limbs and wet clothes.

"Gah!"

"Ruby!?"

"S-Sorry!"

They sprawled on the floor in a heap of limbs and wet clothes.

"G-Get off me!" Weiss pushed and hit Ruby in the chin, but with combined effort they managed to untangle enough to get back to their feet.

"I'm sorry, Weiss…" Ruby held her head; she was bleeding from her nose again, but at least she was back on her feet.

"Just watch where you're going. What _was_ that anyway?" Although she looked annoyed, Weiss' expression quickly became one of worry.

"If you mean the lightning strike, I _think_ it might be my fault."

Weiss' searching gaze made her feel smaller and smaller. "Well, you did kind of zonk out back there."

"Zonk…?" Ruby blinked, but Weiss didn't elaborate nor comment the choice of word. She straightened her coat and brushed her fingers through her soaked hair while glancing back to the old classroom. That prompted Ruby to look as well. The windows separating the classroom from the hallway had shattered, and inside the room stood Jaune. His eyes were red and Ruby's stomach curled into a tight knot. Ren was sitting on the floor beside an upturned desk, with Nora's head in his lap, and stroked her shock white hair. Oobleck sat hunched beside them, talking maybe, though Ruby couldn't make out the words. The bones jutting from her body and the strange, twisted anatomy her limbs had taken on aside, that was _Nora_ in Ren's lap, and judging from the heaves of her body, she was sobbing.

"I…" Ruby started, but didn't know what to even say. Her eyes flickered from the scene and that's when she saw Coco, nestled in the armpit of another Grimm, one which looked disturbingly familiar despite the one missing arm.

"Is, is that Fox!?" Her voice grew raspy as tears welled in her eyes. "Oh no…"

Weiss sighed and put a hand on her arm, just as Oobleck left the room and saw them.

"Glad you could join us again, ms. Rose. What is going on out there? Are you alright?"

"I - it, there was… grrr, whatever! The Grimm are leaving, so we have to save Fox and Nora!" Ruby nearly shrieked with stress, but Oobleck faced her in complete calm.

"This is not an ideal situation, and completely undocumented. We are doing what we can, but the presence of their teammates and partners seem to help calm them down for now."

"She didn't even try to fight us," Weiss said in a very tight voice, "it looked like she was having a panic reaction."

"A good observation, ms. Schnee, you are correct. I do not believe your comrades inhabit any ill will towards us as of yet. This leads me to believe the transformation simply hasn't consumed their soul entirely yet."

Ruby rounded on him. "You can help them, right? We can find a cure and – and make them come back to normal?" Her voice rose again and the Grimm Fox responded with a rumble of a growl, making Coco slap his side.

Oobleck watched them solemnly. "I can make no promises, except one. I will do my very best. It is my duty, and my own greatest wish. It's what Port would want too."

Ruby hung her head. She didn't know what she'd expected, a definite 'they'll be fine' seemed a bit too optimistic. She wanted to go in there and apologize, but it felt like she would intrude upon some sort of bubble, even if it were team RNJR. Most likely, Nora wouldn't want to… see her right now.

She didn't even know what had happened back there, really.

"Um… doctor Oobleck? Is there… more than one way that… someone can be infected?"

He adjusted his glasses, and Weiss shot her a weird look, but Ruby just stared at the floor with shame churning in her heart.

"That's a possibility I have yet to explore," Oobleck said. "Why, we know far too little about the situation to make an accurate assumption, but any doubt should be taken seriously. The easiest way to determine a possible infection would be through a blood sample."

Ruby shrank back, ears burning, and muttered something inaudible, but Weiss shot her one pointed look and then faced the doctor.

"In that case, I think it would be best if you checked both me and Ruby."

Ruby blinked twice. "Weiss?"

"Just to be safe. After all, we were both out there fighting, and there's no telling if we've contracted a few cuts and bruises. Besides, _you've_ been bleeding all over the place since the start."

She flushed as red as her cloak, but didn't protest when Oobleck brought them back to his office. The process was quick, and it wasn't long before the doctor could take a look through his microscope. Weiss glanced at her partner, noting the way she held her breath. Whatever had happened out there, it had hit Ruby hard.

"Mmmh…" Oobleck looked up after several tense minutes of waiting.

"Is… something wrong?" Weiss asked, suddenly feeling nervous.

He sat back. "No, everything's fine. That is to say, there are no signs of any black blood cells like in the case of ms. Valkyrie and mr. Alastair. However," he added, "ms. Rose, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to study your blood sample a bit closer. Given your nature, it may lead us to some explanation as for why you stay uninfected even when you bleed."

"Uh, oh, o-of course!" She hadn't expected that, and now her stomach did a weird flop. "Do… you really think it could help?"

He watched her solemnly, making her squirm. "Only time will tell."

"...Right." She let her gaze fall, only to look back up when Weiss took her hand.

"Let's go, Ruby. We still need to find the others."

"Oh no, Yang! Is she alright!?"

"You'll need more than a lightning strike to take out that brute. Besides, she was pretty far from our position. A wise decision, for once."

XXX

They ran across the school grounds as fast as they could without slipping, and a quick survey of the grounds told Weiss that the Grimm had indeed pulled back. It was still surreal, but nothing about this situation made sense anymore. For one thing, how had Ruby unleashed something like a lightning strike while still standing on her own feet?

The girl in question did look out of it, had been ever since she crashed into Weiss. And the question about infection… Weiss knew she'd have to dig, but right now, it was all about getting inside and getting dry.

The cafeteria had become somewhat of a sanctuary during the battle, with refugees huddled up along the walls and by the tables. That was also the most natural place to gather for those who'd been outside, if nothing else then because of the warmth it provided.

Weiss and Ruby found Oscar already running among the tables, trying to help wherever he could. When they arrived, he showed them a spot by the wall and handed them one of the spare blankets. Weiss took charge with drying the worst of the water out of their hair. Ruby squeaked a protest when Weiss began rubbing her head, but that didn't buy her any mercy.

"I don't need you getting sick on top of everything else!"

Oscar brought them all bowls of cold soup – leftovers from breakfast.

Now, Ruby wasn't exactly known as a quiet person, but Oscar had certainly taken to become quite talkative himself. It had come to the point where Weiss actually preferred her hyperactive partner over the boy, not that his personality was a problem in and of itself. It just baffled her how anyone could talk so much about so little.

"I was so surprised when the alarm went off—" or "I-I really enjoyed our sparring match earlier, maybe we could, uh, do it again sometime?" _blush_ "O-Oh, I nearly forgot, Qrow told me he's got some secret moves he hasn't shown anybody yet, maybe we could convince him to share?"

After a range of different topics failed to make Ruby talk beyond a few one-word sentences, Weiss took pity on the boy and engaged him in talk herself, leaving their redhaired friend to stew for a while.

It wasn't until Blake arrived and dropped the folded Crescent Rose in Ruby's lap that she snapped out of it.

"You forgot this," Blake said. She was soaked from top to toe, leaving a trail of dripping water and a puddle where she stood.

"What about Yang!?" Ruby immediately asked.

"Already in the shower. There's only cold water left, but she says it's no problem for her."

"Cheater," Weiss whispered under her breath, and then sneezed.

"We really should be getting out of these clothes too," Ruby said worriedly. "I have a change of clothes here at school, but what about you guys?"

Oscar nodded feebly, while Weiss and Blake exchanged glances.

"All of my luggage is at Ruby's house," Weiss said.

"Well, we do have a few extra White Fang uniforms that're about your size."

"Are you _kidding_ me?"

XXX

After drying off, changing and getting what food they could into their system, team RWBY, Oscar and Jaune wound up gathering in the headmaster's office. Like Weiss had assumed, the adults wanted a debriefing and to make new plans while they still could.

Nobody knew how long it would be till the Grimm launched another attack.

"Well this is a sucky situation," Qrow started while still rubbing his hair with a towel.

"What are we going to do?" Weiss asked, seemingly the only one of the group willing to speak up at the moment. Jaune and Ruby, the ones who'd normally take the lead, both seemed too busy with brooding over Nora's condition. She couldn't blame them, but they needed to focus forward.

Qrow eyed her with one raised eyebrow, and she shuffled awkwardly. "It was the only clothing available." She tugged at the white sleeve, slightly too long.

"I'd like to see papa Schnee's face right now," Qrow snorted.

"Well I wouldn't," she muttered, hugging herself as to hide the White Fang uniform she'd ended up in. The black pants felt incredibly uncomfortable.

"Aww, leave our newest recruit alone," Yang flung an arm around Weiss' shoulders. "She's part of _Weiss Fang_ now!"

Blake facepalmed and Weiss scowled at the blonde, who only winked back.

"I wish you _were_ hit by that lightning now."

"Tsh, that thing? Sure, it fried a few Grimm and scared off the rest, but was hardly enough to raise the hairs on my arms."

"She shrieked," Blake added dryly. " _Really_ loud."

"And now I wish I was there to hear that."

"Please, focus." The headmaster of Signal spoke up, as low-pitched as always. "First of all, I wish to thank you all for participating in the defence of Signal Academy and the refugees."

"That's our job, boss man!" Yang said.

"Indeed. It seems you've taken to your jobs well, ms. Xiao Long, ms. Rose." His eyebrow twitched ever so slightly. "I admit, you were both equally… _promising_ while you attended Signal."

"Aw, stop it." Yang blew him off.

"I'm not sure he meant that entirely as a compliment, Yang." Blake stated calmly.

"As such," the headmaster of Signal continued, "I believe it is within your power to help alleviate the situation. We," he paused, "that is to say, Qrow, Glynda, Taiyang and myself, have discussed this at length. And we believe the most strategic choice for us is to follow the council's plan. We cannot afford to risk more attacks like this one. Signal may have escaped relatively unharmed, but the city of Patch also need our protection and there is only so much a handful of hunters can do."

Weiss lowered her head, Yang's chipper attitude washed away, and Blake's face set in a hard expression.

"We will do what we can," the White Fang commander answered. "But please, let Yang come with me."

The headmaster looked her in the eye. "I understand your plight, ms. Belladonna. We will grant this request."

Blake relaxed quite a lot at that.

"W-What about us?" Jaune asked, catching their attention.

Qrow shifted. "You guys were originally meant to help guard southern Vale in case the Grimm decides to move in while we launch our own attack, but with this shit going down, I figure you'd rather stay with your team."

"Qrow, we did not discuss this."

"Kong, look at the boy. He's crushed enough as it is. Tear him from his friends and all he'll do is fall apart on the battlefield. This way, he can at least help defend Signal and Patch should the need arise."

Headmaster Kong snorted, but didn't oppose. Instead, he turned back to the younger generation.

"Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee is to launch an attack into Forever Fall and draw the attention of the Grimm as well as stopping any new invasions into Vale. First thing tomorrow morning, Blake Belladonna, Yang Xiao Long and the White Fang will infiltrate Beacon and set up the transmitter on top of Beacon tower. You will all fly out to the safe house today, so I suggest you prepare what you need before that. Our main priority right now is to contact the outside world and report our situation. Any questions?"

XXX

It was a right out blessing to change back into her own clothes once they reached the Rose-Xiao Long residence. For once, Weiss also thanked her big suitcase for housing not only clothes, but also shoes better fit for the muddy ground they were sure to encounter in Forever Fall, as well as a rainproof coat. Laying it all out and ready for their leave, she joined the others in the living room soon after. Blake was reading a book, curled up in a corner of the sofa in a soft-looking black pyjama, and Yang was in shorts and t-shirt, doing push-ups on the floor.

"Do you _have_ to do that here?" Weiss scrunched her nose.

"Can't handle the view?" Yang purred, earning herself a roll of eyes. "You know how it is, with great power comes great sexiness!"

"That's not a saying I'm familiar with."

Weiss sat in a chair opposite the couch, and looked at Blake. "You seem to be in a better mood now, Blake."

The faunus lowered her book slightly to peer above the edge. "I've prepared the White Fang, now all we can do is our best."

"Plus we're going together!" Yang suddenly jumped at her from above the couch, wrapping an arm around Blake's throat. "It'll be just like Beacon days!"

"Gah! Yang!" Blake protested, pulling at the arm constricting her breathing.

"Yaaaang, don't strangle your teammates," Ruby chippered as she came out of the kitchen carrying a tray with plates and utensils, as well as the casserole containing last night's leftovers. She'd donner a black tank top and pajama pants for the occasion. They'd be leaving for Vale soon enough, but that was a couple of hours away for Ruby and Weiss and still several more for Blake and Yang. For now they were all prepared to enjoy a moment of peace.

They all sat – Yang squeezed in between Blake and Ruby – and soon they enjoyed the heated remains of yesterday's mysterious fish pot thing. Except, Weiss noticed, Ruby lapsed back into her quiet self from earlier.

Enough was enough. She set her bowl on the table.

"Guys?"

Before Weiss had done more than open her mouth, Ruby spoke instead.

"Yeah? What's up, Rubes?" Yang immediately turned her attention to her younger sister.

Under their scrutinizing stares, Ruby shrank back into the couch. "I just… can't stop thinking about Nora."

Weiss frowned. "That you attacked her?"

Ruby cringed. "That's…"

Yang, being closest, pulled her into a hug. "Hey. It's alright. It was a stressful situation and she did turn into a… thing. You stopped her from attacking someone else, right?" She looked at Weiss and Blake for backup.

But Weiss frowned. "That's not it."

"Huh?"

Weiss ignored Yang and stared at Ruby, who didn't meet her eyes. That only confirmed her suspicions. "That's not what's eating you up, is it?"

Ruby began stuttering. "I-I… no. I mean, I do feel guilty about attacking her, without knowing the whole picture, but…" she clenched her bowl tighter, "it's… my fault she ended up like that in the first place."

Everyone stayed quiet this time, waiting for her to elaborate.

"It's just… I saw the nevermore coming. I could have stopped it, and I think Nora expected me to, that's why she didn't watch that side… she thought I'd be there for her. But I didn't, I couldn't move at all." Her eyes glazed over. "I-I think there's something wrong with me."

Ah. That explained the question for Oobleck.

"Ruby…" Yang's voice, for once, was calm. She rubbed Ruby's shoulder with her hand, acting like the caring big sister she was. WIth a pang, Weiss remembered Winter, and looked down at her own bowl with stinging eyes. "We've been fighting, what, nearly nonstop for _three years_. You can't perform flawlessly every time – none of us can!"

"No, Yang, please listen to me." Ruby grabbed Yang's hand, holding it still, and met her eyes. "I think… I think I'm sick." Ruby stood, pulling out of Yang's embrace and began pacing the floor. "There's something wrong! I mean, why else would I lose my temper and get angry for no reason?"

Yang cocked her head. "That's called PMS."

Blake snorted into her book.

"No!" Ruby threw her arms up. "I keep getting these nosebleeds, there's these weird spots in front of my eyes, there was that crazy lightning strike I don't even remember, and I have nightmares where this voice keeps talking to me! That's weird, isn't it?"

"Jokes aside," Weiss shot a glare in Yang's direction, who grinned sheepishly, "it's not uncommon to experience stress-related symptoms in our situation." She could tell her partner was far too wound up to accept that as an answer, even if it were the truth. They all had their share of things to deal with after this long, and by no means did she expect the post-war period to be easy on them, but it all came down to how they handled it when it came.

"Arrg, you guys don't get it!" Ruby yelled, folding her arms and pouting.

"Sorry Ruby, but there's just no way anything could corrupt you," Blake stated from behind her book, snuggling her toes underneath Yang's thigh.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"It means you're just too cute, Rubbles!" Yang cheered.

Ruby's face grew entirely red, and before she could go off on a tangent, Weiss spoke up. "Ruby, while I agree the lightning was odd, I've been thinking…" All three of them turned to look at her. "It's not entirely impossible that something happened when you killed the dragon. Perhaps the storm we're seeing is actually a continuation of what was started back there?"

"Um," Yang said, "you mean the black clouds is the Grimm, and the lightning is what, Ruby's subconscious still trying to beat it down?" She blinked. "That's _sick._ "

"You don't have to tell me," Weiss flushed at having even suggested it, "but do you have a _better_ idea?"

"Rubes unlocked a new powerup. Heavenly Silver Eyes Flash Thunder! Calling down the wrath of the gods at will! Oh, or the moon! Imagine if you could use that to just _burn_ Remnant clean of Grimm!"

"That's even stupider," Blake commented.

"And supercool!"

They all stopped talking when Ruby stomped her foot. "Guys! Stop joking around! I'm serious here!"

Sharing a look with Blake, Weiss took the word. "Ruby, I don't mean to make light of your situation, but we did already ask Oobleck, and he said your blood sample was fine."

Yang's gaze snapped from Weiss to Ruby, and Blake frowned.

It looked like Ruby was torn between yelling more and giving up in defeat. Finally, she sighed. and slumped. "Yeah… I know. My body isn't changing either, and with Nora and Russel it happened so fast. I'm being overdramatic, aren't I?"

"Just a bit. But there is a real risk here, and we don't know how this infection works, exactly. If either of us feel off," Weiss looked from Ruby to Yang and Blake, "we _have_ to take it seriously."

Yang stood and strode over to Ruby, pulling her into a hug. "Sorry sis, I know this is stressing you out. To be honest, I'm freaked out too. We're just _so_ close, you know? It feels unreal. Just know that I'm here for you, always."

Ruby wrapped her arms around Yang in return. "I know, I'm sorry. We can do this. After all," she pulled back and pumped an arm with a grin, "we're team RWBY, the best team to never graduate Beacon!"

"Yesh!"

"How very uplifting…"

* * *

 **I have a very simple goal: Finish this story before volume 5 airs. That was my goal when I set out to write it back in May, and it still is.**

 **We've still got a few chapters to go.**

 **Next chapter: Fracture.**

 **Thanks to everyone who reviews, you really make my day!**

 **Guest:** Thanks for pointing out the blunder with Weiss' knight, I somehow wrote it as the shield and sword kind of knight even though I've seen it numerous times... fixed now!


	11. Chapter 11: Fracture

**Chapter 11: Fracture**

"Are you really alright?" Weiss asked for the umpteenth time as they made their way back to Signal that evening.

"Peachy!" Ruby quipped, beaming like a sun.

"You know I don't believe that for a second."

"Aww, Weiss, come on. It's all in my head, right? I guess I really am stressed out, like you guys said. Aaaaand I just gotta deal with it a little while longer." She rubbed her neck with a sheepish smile.

"Well, even if it _is_ in your head, that's room for worry too."

The bullhead waiting to take the first round of people to Vale stood ready at the Signal docks. Blake and Yang would be setting off for Vale later, and Beacon in the morning, and only took a few minutes off from their last preparations to see Weiss and Ruby off.

"Don't you dare die." Blake's narrow eyes gazed at Weiss as she set her backpack down by her selected window seat.

"Don't be ridiculous," Weiss answered. "We're _not_ going in on a rampaging slaughter mission. We'll provide the distraction you need, buying you time to set up the transmitter, and letting the others do their job and look for survivors without fearing for their lives. We really do need to ask for reinforcements and this is the best option, whether we like it or not."

The faunus let out an annoyed sigh. "I know. I just don't like how they act about it."

They both looked out the round window. Outside, Yang did her best to crush Ruby's ribs in a sisterly hug.

"Neither do I," Weiss admitted. "Ruby's not some Atlas robot who can just be rebuilt at a whim. It's my solemn duty to make sure she returns in one piece, and that involves _not_ engaging every single Grimm within range without a plan."

A small smirk pulled at Blake's lips. "Your duty, hum?"

"As her partner—"

"Oh come on, be a little adventurous. I've seen the way you look at her."

Weiss' face instantly inflamed. "W-What are you talking about?"

"Our little kid leader really has grown up. Don't try to tell me you didn't notice. Your heartbeat is literally loud enough to hear." Blake's ears flicked with mischief.

"She's still a child," Weiss protested, halfhearted. She looked back at the sisters, who were now locked in a semi-friendly wrestling match which Ruby seemed to be losing. "…actually, there's more to it than that."

"Hm." Blake's pleased grin irked her, but she had nothing to hide.

"Ruby is my best friend. I… never had anyone like her, growing up. When I first met her I thought she was the most annoying thing on Remnant, but she stuck on like a leech, and after a while…" she breathed out. "There is no doubt Ruby holds a special place to me, and I would like it if you don't make fun of that."

"No romantic feelings at all?"

"I'll admit, I have been… uncertain." Weiss glanced aside. "I mean… the idea of staying with her is not… unpleasant. But I have no time for romantic _endeavours,_ and besides, we are already so close it sometimes feels like she's my sister." Her voice turned melancholic.

Blake smiled. "You miss your family, don't you." It wasn't really a question, like she knew what Weiss felt even without asking. Perhaps she did. Their families might not be alike on a lot of things, but they had both been through times of strain and reunion, so to say.

Weiss had simply never expected to feel that way about her own turbulent household.

"As strange as it sounds, I do. In a way, Ruby helped me in that too. I know they have a hard time in Atlas right now. Sure Atlas has a lot of military power, but that's no good against disease and famine. At the very least, robots don't need nutrients. And now we're going to ask for their defenses to come here too."

"It'll be over once they get here," Blake promised. "I may scoff at the council's ways, but their intentions are pure. Beacon is the highest point of Vale, it's our best bet to get good enough communication to contact the outside world."

"Had I known the situation would become what it is, I would have asked Ironwood for reinforcements to bring, and not just a stupid transmitter," Weiss grumbled.

"Well, you brought _you_. I think Ruby needed that too, more than any of us. It's just, none of us expected these numbers, not even our Silver Eyed Warrior could possibly handle them all alone. With or without _the moon._ " She rolled her eyes, and they shared a snicker at their partners' expense.

"Ah, speaking of…" Blake trailed off and Weiss looked outside to see what had captured her attention. Oscar had arrived, as part of the unit who'd search for survivors while Weiss and Ruby distracted the Grimm. His blush was clearly visible even from this distance, though Ruby seemed oblivious as she animatedly talked to him.

"So… what do you think about _that_?"

Weiss scoffed. "To be frank? Not much. When it started I couldn't decide whether to be supportive or grossed out, but now that Ozpin's gone I suppose…" she trailed off, her expression softened, and she pulled a breath. "She's far too thickheaded to notice anyway."

"Sounds like you pity him."

"Do I?"

"Or are you jealous?"

"About _what_? Just so you know, if I catch any love triangle rumours going around, I _will_ find the culprit and it will _not_ be pretty. Speaking of, don't you have your own… situation to deal with?"

The faunus looked away, blushing. "Sun and Yang are both fine with that."

"Oh really." Weiss' expression turned into one of smugness.

"Really! They are! Both of them!" Blake panicked, and hurriedly turned around, ears flat on her head. "Yang's just… she's got a lot to deal with too, you know. Becoming the maiden and all… it wasn't exactly something we'd planned."

"No," Weiss breathed. "I suppose not. Still better than Salem's plans coming to fruition though. Even if Cinder might have disagreed at one point."

Blake lowered her head, ears drooping. "I still can't believe she planned to have one human take on all four maiden powers. Seeing how it affects Yang, any more must destroy a human's soul."

"Is it really that bad? She's hiding it well."

"Of course she does, for Ruby's sake." She looked unhappy. "For me, too. But I know. Which is why, after this, I hope she'll finally get some rest."

Weiss walked up and put a hand on Blake's shoulder. "We will _all_ need some rest after this. And we _will_ get there."

Blake looked up and smiled sadly. "I hope so."

XXX

Dark as blood, Forever Fall's canopy towered above them, misted by the continuous stream of rain. At least the woods beneath those trees weren't as wet, making their trek into it less terrible.

"I can't believe it's been so looooong!" Ruby chirped, skipping ahead in front of Weiss with her cloak covering most of her body as a shield from the rain. A backpack bounced on her shoulders and she held the straps with both hands. She looked like a child on her first day of school. "Remember when we had to pick tree sap with Glynda?"

"I don't think this is the time to be nostalgic," Weiss said dryly, doing her best to avoid the infinite thorny bushes surrounding their trail. "We're out here to act as distraction for an innumerable amount of Grimm as well as look for signs of any survivors who may have escaped into the forest. We don't even have a set time limit, just 'keep going until you see the signal from Beacon', so who knows how long we'll be out here acting as bait or whatnot." She silently begged Yang and Blake to be efficient come morning.

"Also, how are we supposed to draw any Grimm _to us_ when just looking at you makes them flee for their lives? This plan _reeks_."

"Relaaaax, Weiss!" Ruby turned around to watch her, now walking backwards. "This is fun, just you and me on a Grimm hunt! We can handle whatever they throw at us, so _I'm_ not worried."

"Well, _I_ am. This isn't exactly the same at tapping tree sap, you know."

"Hah, I knew you remembered~" She turned back around with a hum, missing Weiss' glare.

"Of course I remember. You were spilling that stuff all over the place."

"And Nora kept eating hers~"

"And Jaune ran into that ursa—"

"And Pyrrha helped him beat it!" Ruby finished excitedly. Then, she grew silent, and Weiss looked aside, eyeing the gnarled roots and red leaves littering the forest floor.

"I miss Pyrrha," Ruby said at last, in a low voice which nearly went unheard under the sound of the rain.

"We all do," Weiss answered just as quietly, and started when Ruby suddenly turned around, hands clenched and fire burning in her eyes.

"We'll have to take back Vale, and Beacon! For Pyrrha, and Penny, and Nora, and everyone! This is like the circle come close, Weiss, but we're a lot stronger this time! And we're _so close_!"

Startled, Weiss stammered in response. "Y-Yeah, you're right, of course. We should."

Ruby suddenly grabbed her shoulders and leaned in, bringing their faces within inches of each other. "We. _Will._ "

"Not so close, you dolt!"

A distant growl joined the sounds of rain overhead. Ruby pulled back, to Weiss' relief, and turned towards the sound. "That was close by."

Weiss pulled out Myrtenaster from the sheath hidden beneath her rain cloak. Ruby already had Crescent Rose in her hands, chambering a round.

"Ready?"

"Ready."

The two huntresses sped off through the woods in search of prey.

XXX

"Ready for takeoff!"

The passengers had all entered aboard the bullhead when the message rang through the loudspeaker overhead. Soon, they'd be in Vale, and tomorrow morning they'd set out for Beacon. Yang sat in her seat, staring out the window, and massaging the joint where her metal arm sat attached to her real arm.

"Does it hurt?" Blake had noticed. She came over to sit in the seat opposite Yang, after checking on her White Fang comrades.

"Ah, no, it's just, sometimes it feels kinda tight." Yang smiled, an effort which didn't really reach her eyes. She looked, to put it bluntly, exhausted. Blake reached forward and took hold of the fingers on her metal arm. Gently stroked them, although they didn't as much as twitch in response.

Yang let out a breath and let her other hand fall on top of Blake's. "So, hey, Vacuo's gonna be fun."

"Hunting down traitors and deserters _would_ be your idea of fun."

"You know me well. Imagine though, just you an' me an' loverboy, overpowering the darkness of the past. How romantic is that?"

Blake rolled her eyes. "Sun won't be with us all the time. Someone has to take care of what does remain of our loyal allies in the White Fang, as well as build up more connections to possible allies. We want to change the world, not conquer it."

"Which is why we're gonna beat them down, got it." Yang stroked her thumb over Blake's hand.

"They are only making things harder for us, using White Fang as an excuse to commit crimes."

"So… with no Sun around, I guess you'll have to make do with a sunny dragon~"

Blake turned her hand around and allowed Yang to intertwine their fingers.

"I think I'll be fine with that."

The bullhead's engines roared alive.

Soon, it would be over.

XXX

With a slash and a slice, the beowolf's head went flying. Ruby skidded to a stop on the slippery ground, planting Crescent Rose into it like an anchor. Behind her, numerous Grimm slowly dissolved.

Weiss came up to her, grimacing at the mud they'd been forced to fight in and which now cluttered along her white shoes. No, changing colors was _not_ an option.

"Is this really effective at all? I feel like we're blindly attacking small fry."

"Hmm. You're right. We should try and find some bigger targets."

Ruby pulled Crescent Rose out of the ground and sheathed it, then closed her eyes. White flecks floated in front of her eyelids, but she ignored them, pulling a deep breath. Weiss waited, knowing better than to interrupt, though she didn't like this arrangement at all. The storm above was still as ominous as ever. Did it truly grow for every Grimm killed? How would calling in Atlas' military assistance be of any use against something like that?

But she kept her mouth shut, for now, and glanced at Ruby again as the girl opened her eyes.

"There's an Elder Grimm and some small fry in that direction." She pointed, predictably, deeper into the forest.

"It still weirds me out how you can do that."

"Ehehe," Ruby laughed sheepishly and stepped forward, "actually, your soul really stands—" she cut off abruptly as her knee buckled, sending her into the mud.

"Ruby!" Weiss was beside her in an instant, grabbing her arm, and helping her up. "You shouldn't strain yourself!"

Her partner blinked several times before looking up at her. She looked confused more than anything. "Weiss...?"

A single eyebrow rose in response. "Were you expecting someone else?"

"No, I just – for a second I thought… never mind." She rubbed her temple, getting to her own feet once more. Weiss rounded her and jabbed a finger into the chest.

"No."

"Uh, no?"

"No. We're not doing this now. If we're going to succeed, we _have_ to be honest with each other. No more pretending to be fine." _Goes for you as well, hypocrite._

"I, but, uh, the blood sample—"

"Screw the blood sample!" Her outburst made Ruby step back in alarm. "If you don't feel fine you don't feel fine, that's all there is to it! I'm your partner, don't think for a second that I don't know if you're okay! And you're _not_ okay!"

Ruby's mouth hung open in surprise, but then her eyes glanced off. "I… saw Salem."

That was _not_ what she'd expected. "What!?"

Ruby's hands clenched into fists, but she refused to look at Weiss. "I keep seeing her! In my dreams, she keeps talking to me, and…" she trailed off.

"And?" Weiss prompted.

"It's stupid."

Weiss glared, and continued to glare, until Ruby squirmed.

"S-She keeps saying weird things and I, sometimes I feel like… it's like she's not really dead."

A slow, sharp breath expelled between Weiss' lips. "Ruby…"

"Look, I _know_ it's stupid. I know she's dead, I mean I _watched_ her evaporate! And I know that this is all just stress, and – and it'll all go away." Ruby brushed past her, trudging on through the mud. "Let's go on."

"Stop." Weiss grabbed her shoulder, and Ruby sagged under the weight.

"It's nothing, Weiss, let's just go."

"Are you dumb? I won't let my partner dig herself into a grave like this."

"Weiss—"

"No, I'm not done talking. You've been pushing yourself ever since I got here, and if I'd wager, you've probably been doing it for far longer than that. The world's not yours to carry, Ruby. You're not the only one fighting, and you're not the one who has to fix everything. We're a _team_ , remember? And it's not just _us_ , either. We are more allies gathered in one place than ever – there is no need for you to keep going on like this! Just, please, allow us to do our part too."

Only the rain sounded for a few long seconds. Then Ruby raised her head slightly, and for a second her eyes flashed. It was just an instant, before her lips parted in a big grin.

"Yeah, you're right, Weiss! Sorry I was being all mopey. Let's get moving, those Grimm won't kill themselves~"

As she trudged on through the mud with a bright skip in her steps, Weiss lingered, the hairs on her arms still standing on end. A rumble in the sky snapped her out of it, and with a wary glance upwards, the white-haired heiress followed her partner into the woods once more.

* * *

 **Weiss would make a... fine?... _interesting_ psychologist.**

 **She'd just look at your depression and go "get a grip, you dunce!" and then she'd drag you through it till you do.**


	12. Chapter 12: Chasm

**Chapter 12: Chasm**

Nights in Forever Fall were darker than she remembered, although Ruby guessed it had something to do with the swirling mass of angry black clouds blocking the moonlight.

It wasn't even really night yet, the sun couldn't have been down for more than an hour. But it was darker and colder than she thought it'd be, even with the campfire they managed to light up thanks to generous amounts of fire dust. Overhead, their cloaks were strung out like impromptu tent ceilings, keeping the rain off of them for now. Weiss was trying to get a shuteye, though Ruby had more or less had to push her into the sleeping bag by force, assuring her again and again that she'd take the first watch.

She was _fine_.

A slow breath left her lips. Of course Weiss would worry. She liked to play the cold ice princess, but underneath all that Weiss was an incredibly warm person. Just looking at her family was enough proof of that. Only Weiss would be able to move on, forgive, and even care for such cold people who'd once denounced her in the vilest of ways.

Of course she wanted to go back to them… to be there with her brother, who was sick and maybe even…

Her head throbbed and Ruby winced, absentmindedly rubbing her temple. The white flecks swam across her vision like lazy flowers in a pond. Okay so maybe not _fine…_ but she wasn't, well, infected. Not like Nora… or Russel and Fox…

 _Throb._

"Guuuh." She groaned and bent over her knees, hugging them close to her body and hiding her face. "Stupid, jerky, headache thingy."

Something brushed by her hair and she jerked up, only to freeze when a hand slid across her jawline.

"You certainly made a mess out of things, child."

It was instinct, not even a conscious thought, that made Ruby throw herself around, Crescent Rose up and pointed straight at – nothing.

Or rather, she was still alone.

A twig snapped, Ruby twirled around – heart hammering now – and aimed at the forest around their camp. Darkness pooled outside the range of the fire, but she still saw the glint of eyes. Red and malevolent. They swam in and out focus together with the white flecks, and Ruby clenched her teeth in response.

"Do you wanna die or what!?" She burst forward in an explosion of rose petals, slicing through the Grimm before it could make a sound. Its separated head bounced off a tree and rolled onto the ground, staring up at a huffing Ruby with its lifeless eyes.

Eyes which was unobscured by any mask whatsoever. A two-legged body crashed down beside it, already disintegrating. Its limbs may be too long and disjointed, but… how many people had gone missing in the attacks on Vale again?

How many had become infected?

Ruby hissed between her teeth, wanted to escape the sight but unable to tear her eyes away. As she staggered backwards, a cold touch slipped across her cheek.

"Humans are so easily manipulated."

"Who are you!?" Ruby spun around, swung her scythe, and a metallic clang rang out as Crescent Rose collided with a solid shield glyph. Shocked blue eyes met furious silver. "What are you doing!?" Ruby screamed at her partner, pulling her weapon away.

"Me?" Weiss frowned. "What are _you_ doing!? I called you three times and all you did was stand there!"

"I was fighting!"

"It was long dead!"

Ruby groaned in frustration, then smacked a hand to her face and forced herself to breathe in deeply. Weiss waited, and several long seconds passed before Ruby let her hand fall.

"I'm—" Whatever was going to follow, an apology, explanation or whatever else, it never did. A scream tore through the woods, causing the two of them to look up in alarm.

"That sounded human." Weiss commented, and before any more words left her lips, Ruby sped off in a burst of petals, weaving between the trees with inhuman speed. "Ruby!"

Ruby didn't hear, didn't think, just rocketed ahead as fast as her semblance could carry her, determined to stop whatever this was – this madness that played with everyone's lives. Trees sped by in a blur until a new scream sounded, much closer this time. Ruby slid to a halt on the slippery forest ground. Glowing red eyes lurked in the dark, deformed limbs dragged against the dirt. No jutting white bone and no manes of white hair, but neither was there a single mask to be seen.

"… _a tool…"_

"… _just a weapon…"_

"W-What?" Goosebumps formed all over her body as soulless whispers washed over her. Not Salem's voice, not any voice she knew, but numerous low, hissing sounds that definitely belonged to something human. Or human- _like._ They stayed just out of range, staring, moving restlessly, and whispering words that gave her chills.

" _Silver Eyes…"_

" _Left behind…"_

" _Cursed…"_

" _Grimm Reaper…"_

" _That is all…"_

Ruby screamed and tore forward, firing Crescent Rose and slicing one of the Grimm in two. The ones nearby jumped away and hissed.

" _Cursed, cursed, cursed,"_ a slow chant filled the woods, ringing in from all directions.

"Shut uuuuup!" Ruby swung her scythe around, embedded it into the wet earth, and began pulling the trigger. Screw their human resemblance. Screw their twisted mind games. Screw everything! Each shot brought down a new Grimm, they weren't powerful, just numerous, and Crescent Rose's rounds slammed through them with ease.

But no matter how many she took down, no matter how fast she sped off to tackle another group, more appeared in the distance. She blitzed between the trees as her head throbbed and eyes burned with tears she refused to shed.

XXX

"Ruby!" Weiss shouted again, but the other girl had long since disappeared between the trees, and in her wake Weiss was stuck with, well, _Grimm_. They bled out of the trees like a plague, numerous and hideous. Myrtenaster speared and sliced, her summoned boarbatusk hurtling ahead and spearing another at its tusks, and all the while Weiss tried not to see… not to _listen_...

But that was impossible.

" _Which way to turn…"_

" _Confused and uncertain…"_

" _Guilty and lost…"_

" _What purpose to serve…"_

She gritted her teeth and speared a Grimm through its unnatural eye. The last one for… about ten seconds. She took the time to draw a breath, shuffling their stabbing whispered comments to the back of her mind. There was no time to dwell on it now.

The rain fell thicker than ever, lightning flashing high above the trees, only briefly illuminating the bloody red canopies and thick tree trunks. It was an unfavourable environment to manouver in a fight, which is why she'd opted for summoning lesser Grimm companions rather than her knight. Spending energy on mowing down trees would hardly be efficient.

The enemy wasn't strong, but their added ability to _speak_ was incredibly unwelcome.

" _Family or friends…"_

" _Duty or happiness…"_

"I've made up my mind already, thank you very much!"

Weiss blasted the Grimm aside with fire dust that sizzled through the rain, and kept moving, using her semblance to boost herself through the woods. She almost missed Ruby, sliding to a halt once she realized she'd caught up. Her partner was kneeling on the ground, hunched over Crescent Rose, and a wall of black shapes and glowing red eyes observed them from the woods ahead. The whispers slammed against her mind and Weiss reeled back.

"Ruby!" Weiss, eyes on the Grimm, backed up to stand beside her partner.

"…Weiss?" Ruby blinked slowly.

"What are you doing? You can't just leave like that!" Weiss started yelling, then actually looked at Ruby properly, and blanched. There was a small boy huddled to Ruby's torso, staring wide-eyed at Weiss and the Grimm as if he couldn't even tell them apart.

"Ruby, who is that?"

"He was hiding in a tree with his big sister," Ruby said. "They must have escaped Vale during the attack."

"And where is his sister?" Weiss already felt like she knew the answer.

"I'm guessing, over there." Ruby nodded at the Grimm skulking between the trees. "I asked if there were more survivors, but he won't really speak. He just nodded, but I think they're already gone too. I wonder why they look so different from Nora and Fox though? Maybe it's because they didn't have their aura unlocked when they turned? That'd be so cool!" Leave it to a dunce to be excited at a time like this.

"Alright…" now this was a major setback to their objective. Never mind that he'd somehow survived in a forest full of Grimm, they had to bring this kid back to a safe place. "If you keep him safe, I'll hold off the Grimm." She raised Myrtenaster.

"No need, Weiss. We'll just do this!"

The boy cried out. Weiss whipped around just to see Crescent Rose's massive blade slip through the flesh on his arm, leaving a gash down the length of the limb. Blood soaked the sweater he wore.

"What are you doing!?" Weiss yelled, but it was already too late. The forest canopy may have kept some of the rain off of them, but it was unable to stop every single drop. Besides, the boy was already wet and cold, and his wound was instantly infected. His body convulsed, eyes turning a hissing red, and the boy lunged at Weiss. She acted before thinking, swinging her rapier around and skewering him on the tip of it.

His eyes widened and a weak cough left his throat before his limp body fell to the ground, soaking the grass with blood.

"Aw, you killed him." Ruby sounded sad, but her eyes looked bloodshot and wide with exhaustion.

Weiss' grip trembled around Myrtenaster's handle. "Ruby… what… is going on?"

"I just figured it out, Weiss!" Even when she smiled, she looked completely spent. "Actually, the Grimm kind of helped me realize."

Weiss didn't know whether to raise her weapon or pull back. "... _what_?"

Blood dripped from Crescent Rose. "You know, the more Grimm we kill, the bigger the storm grows, right? That's why nothing we do works!"

"Okay? And… where are you going with this?"

"It's easy, Weiss! We gotta _make_ Grimm, not kill 'em! Each time we kill a Grimm, we feed the storm, but each time we make a new one, we use the storm too! Oh, but," before Weiss could even process what she was saying, Ruby corrected herself. "I mean, we _do_ want to kill them, cause that's what we do right, we're huntresses and all. I mean, I'm basically just a Grimm slaying machine anyway, you know? But if there's no Grimm left, we'll have nothing to do!

"So I figured, if we _make_ them first, we'll never run out of Grimm, and we can continue what we're best at – forever! And, that's why this storm is actually really great! Humans are like, _really_ unstable, I mean, did you ever meet Tyrian before he lost his head? Though I guess he was a faunus, but that's not the point! The storm actually brings out all the bad stuff in people and kind of swallows everything else, that's how they turn into Grimm! We can make as many Grimm as we want, and that means we can kill as many as we want too! It's a win-win!"

Weiss stared at her partner as if she'd grown four extra arms. Silver eyes sparkled with eager, as if she didn't see any wrongs with this crazy statement at all. With what she'd done. What she'd made Weiss do. _No… that was me, I was too quick. I should have…_ should have what, exactly?

Weiss slowly looked down at the twisted face of what had just been a normal boy.

" _Nothing helps, nothing matters…"_

" _Can't make a difference, never could…"_

The whispers were back, and this time she realized what they were doing. Feeding lies, manipulating their minds. She looked up at Ruby again with increased urge.

"Ruby, we have to go! These Grimm are mind tricksters!"

"What are you talking about, Weiss, they're not tricking anyone. They've only ever said the truth."

"What?" Weiss stared, stunned, as Ruby collapsed Crescent Rose and clipped it onto her belt.

"Just watch, Weiss!" And Ruby purposefully walked up to the closest Grimm and raised a hand. The Grimm leaned forward, peering at it curiously.

Weiss suddenly felt more than a little nauseous.

"They're all so curious!" Ruby proudly proclaimed. "I actually meant to kill them, but then they told me—" she cut off as a roar rumbled through the forest. "Oooooh that thing sounds huge." The Grimm around them began whimpering and mumbling, pulling away from the sound. "Shhhh," Ruby cooed, "I won't let a scary Elder hurt you guys."

"Ruby, are you _insane_?" She had to be. It wasn't really a question.

"They can't help it, Weiss, they're just fledglings!"

"Ruby, you can't listen to them! This isn't you!"

Wide silver eyes blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"You're making no sense! Talking about creating Grimm, corruption in humans, h-hurting civilians, this, this isn't you! You're Ruby Rose, the dorky girl who loves to hunt Grimm and help people, not – whatever this is!"

Ruby's expression turned from light confusion to something incredible dark within seconds. "Weiss… I thought you of all people would understand."

"Understand _what!?_ " Her heart beat like it tried to outrun the whole situation.

Ruby threw her hands up in exasperation. "That's _all_ I am to _everyone_! The girl with the silver eyes, that _dunce_ who can't do anything but fight Grimm! It's like I was born with a curse or something! Who are we even supposed to _be,_ if we only exist for one single purpose? What do we do once we're done?" Her voice rose in volume with every word, eyes flashing. Weiss took one step backwards, acutely aware how the Grimm surrounding them had suddenly bared their fangs in her direction. Her foot pushed against a still arm, and nausea filled her throat.

The boy wasn't disintegrating. She'd killed him before he'd even turned.

And Ruby was still ranting. "You were born into the Schnee family and your only purpose was to lead your family's company, and, and when you rebelled your father just tossed you aside, he's been manipulating you all this time and even now you're going back to it, because that's what everyone says you have to do, right? We're the same, Weiss! So why can't you understand what I'm saying?"

Weiss had to tread carefully. While lashing back and biting out that she'd _chosen_ this on her own, Whitley was _dying_ and Winter was _gone_ and this might be her _one_ chance to right things… she had a feeling none of it would go home with her hotheaded partner right now.

 _Stall her, and then what? How did this happen, what should I do, oh god Ruby why did this…_

"Ruby, I do understand—" she cut off, thrown off sync when something burst through the trees. A massive deathstalker, with armor of bone growth no regular weapon could pierce. For a second she fumbled to raise Myrtenaster, and then silver light burst out, and judging by the following shrieks and cries of agony, incinerated every single Grimm in a piteous fiery death.

"Don't interrupt us!" Ruby screamed, standing rigid in the remaining dust which slowly evaporated through the rain. Weiss slowly lowered her arms, which had shot up on instinct. Her entire body tingled and she had to blink the remaining specks of light from her vision. In front of Ruby, the giant deathstalker was cowering, and left with only a isngle pincer.

Ruby staggered and scowled, seemingly oblivious to the blood running down her lips now. "Look what you made me do, stupid beast. Now they're all dead."

The deathstalker clattered helplessly in return.

Heart hammering, Weiss forced her gaze from the beast and onto her partner.

"Ruby, I…" _please..._ "...do understand. I believe…" _don't do this to me..._ "I believe that while I cannot fully agree on what you're saying right now, I see where you're coming from. So please, let's work this out." _Don't leave me like this!_

Ruby turned to her in shock, and the sudden movement caused the deathstalker to shrink back. "Really?"

"Well, we're partners, after all."

Whatever she'd expected, it wasn't the squeal of joy Ruby let out before blitzing onto Weiss and catching her in an embrace. Frozen on the spot, Weiss stiffly returned the embrace.

"So… let's go back to Vale?"

"Oh yeah, we should see if there's any more survivors!"

"A-Actually, maybe we should just head to Beacon instead. You know, and meet your sister, and Blake."

Ruby's eyes lit up. "Yeah, we need them on board too! This'll be great!" She grabbed Weiss by the wrist and pulled her along. "Come on, Stingy! You're with us now! I have a plan~"

The deathstalker clattered and turned to follow them like an obedient dog. Unable to protest, Weiss stumbled along, staring at Ruby's back and slowly sinking into the dreadful realization that this may be their greatest opponent yet.

XXX

Hours later, at the crack of dawn, a bullhead floated through the air towards Beacon. The tower was within view, but seeing it only made a chill run down Yang's spine.

"Is this really…" she muttered, capturing the attention of her companion.

"Really what?" Ilia looked up from inspecting her weapon. She was on the floor of the bullhead, polishing her intricate weapon which Ruby had fawned over for hours the first time she saw it.

"Is this really it? We go to Beacon, fight off some Grimm, install the transmitter, contact Atlas and they'll come blast the rest of the Grimm to extinction. Then, the storm either stops on its own, or Atlas'll magically fabricate some sort of weather control system."

Ilia thoughtfully flipped a switch back and forth on her sword-whip. Yang could agree that an extendable blade capable of drilling through skin and bone and storing dust cartridges was impressive, but far too unyielding for her taste.

"You don't sound like you believe this will work." Ilia's skin was a pale yellow which Yang had learned meant she was in a contemplative mood.

"Well, call me cynical, but after everything we've seen I'm not gonna take anything by word."

"Whether we believe it or not, it's the only option we have. If we die, we die for a good cause."

"You're just Miss _Rainbow_ through and through, aren't ya?"

Ilia instantly changed colors to a deep blue. "I hate you."

A blinding white flash filled the bullhead, followed by a roar of thunder. The entire ship shook, forcing the passengers to grab onto whatever was closest to remain standing. Yang hissed as the shockwave rolled over them, creating blisters on her skin.

"What the heck!?" She looked up, just as a red lamp began blinking and a blaring alarm sounded throughout the craft. The speakers crackled alive as the pilot's voice came through.

"We just took a hit in one of the wings, one engine is offline. We'll be performing an emergency landing."

"Well that's great. How far from Beacon are we?" Yang grumbled, rubbing her arm and looking outside to what should have been a growing sunrise. Only black clouds and flashes of lightning painted the sky now. Something inside her reared its head in response to the danger it meant. She squashed it back down.

"We should be able to glide far enough to reach the landing docks," Blake said as she came up to them. "We have mechanics on board that can look at the engine while we start clearing out Grimm."

Yang smacked her fists together, creating a shockwave that nearly knocked Ilia over. "Great, that makes this way more exciting."

Blake exhaled softly. "Whether or not you're joking, I'm not actually that worried. So long as we survive the landing."

"Brace for impact!" The pilot's voice rang over the intercom, and seconds later, a colossal jolt rocked the ship, and a screeching noise rang out as the metal ship slid across the ground in a graceless manner before finally, coming to a rest. Smoke billowed in through the cargo doors once they opened, prompting Blake to pinch her nose.

"That could have been smoother," Yang said, picking herself up from the pile of equipment she'd collapsed into. Blake turned, all senses on high alert.

"Everyone get ready! We're in a war zone, remember the formation!"

Ilia took command of the White Fang, while Yang and Blake took the lead out the door, Gambol Shroud unsheathed and Ember Celica deployed.

What awaited them outside was completely unexpected.

"…uh, what?" Yang lowered her fists, while Blake's eyes narrowed into slits.

They'd landed on Beacon's docks, and in front of them stood a wall of Grimm.

Waiting.

"Hey guys!" The cheerful voice that greeted them seemed so utterly out of place, no small thanks to the ranks of Grimm behind her.

"Ruby!?" Yang stepped forward, but Blake tossed a hand out to stop her, eyes darting from side to side, taking in the situation. Countless Grimm, watching and waiting just behind the silver-eyed girl. Behind them, Ilia halted the rest of their group, pushing back into a defensive formation around the bullhead.

Something was off. Not just because Ruby was _here_ , but the Grimm, they were different too. They'd killed so many Grimm during the invasions, but still there remained plenty here, large ones at the back, and in front, hundreds of smaller ones. Amongst them were numerous Grimm of a kind Blake had never seen, just black shapes with red eyes on two legs.

"Where's Weiss?" Blake asked, trying not to let herself be distracted by the oddity.

Yang's voice held a note of fear when she spoke. "What's going on?"

"Oh, Weiss was tired, so I let her rest!" Ruby chirped. "We've been gathering up Grimm all night, and then we had to go aaaaall the way to Beacon, it was super exhausting." She groaned as she slumped, but instantly perked back up. "But don't worry, I found plenty for you guys, and I'll make more if you want!"

"What?" Yang stared, bewildered and cold not only from the rain, as her sister gestured to the multitude of misshaped Grimm behind her. On two legs, too long arms, most of them were completely unrecognizable as any Grimm species she'd ever seen. But, a few had spikes or bone plates and manes of white hair, just like… _Nora, Fox…_

A shudder grew from deep within her chest.

"These are just the people who managed to escape into the forest! I wanted to visit Vale first, but Weiss said we should meet you guys before that. She was so tired though," she sighed. "I had to let her rest."

None of the Grimm attacked, they all lingered back as if anticipating some sort of signal. Ruby looked like a commander at the front of an army, but that… was so wrong. Blake eyed Ilia, sharing a worried look. The repairs were already underway, but they couldn't just leave as it were. They'd have to make a stand until the engines were up and running once more.

The redhead beamed brightly at them as she continued talking. "They're just fledglings, but I'm sure if we leave some of them alive they'll grow into powerful foes in no time! Plus we can make other fun ones too! Those with aura becomes different than those without, it's really cool!"

"Ruby, what… are you talking about? What's going on?" Yang was the complete opposite of Blake's calm; she looked about ready to cry.

Ruby cocked her head and blinked. "What, Yang? You wanna kill Grimm too, right?"

The subtle shift in tone forced a hiss from Blake's throat, and she pulled Gambol Shroud up as if she planned to attack the younger girl.

"Blake?" Yang's wide eyes turned on her, but Blake did not remove her gaze from Ruby for even a second.

"That's not her."

"What…?"

"That's not Ruby."

Lightning flashed above, reflected in amber and silver alike. Ruby frowned, then smiled, but the gesture seemed off and sent chills down Blake's spine.

"I know it sounds crazy, but this is actually really great!" Ruby walked right up to one of the Grimm, larger than her, and put a hand on its head – a gesture it seemingly leaned into. "Look, they don't even growl unless I tell them to, they're just so cute! And we can make so many! Vale, Mistral, Vacuo, even Atlas if we want to! There's so many people left!"

"You're making no sense," Blake growled, lowering herself slightly, ears flat against her head. Yang had never seen her this strung before, except whenever someone mentioned a certain former White Fang commander. But this was _Ruby._ "What about the transmitter? What about Vale, and Beacon, and everyone's futures? What about _Nora_? What did you _do_ out there, Ruby?" Blake's eyes slitted as she hissed the last words, causing Ruby's  
hand to fall.

"You're no fun, Blake."

Yang stepped back unconsciously, heart practically leaping to her throat. Was it just her imagination or was the rain falling harder than before? Lightning flashed overhead, rolling noises of thunder splitting across the sky that made her skin tingle.

Ruby's eyes looked brighter, shining with a light which tore Yang in several different directions. She had seen that light rip apart foes bigger than houses. A power capable of laying waste to entire packs of Grimm and mutilating a Maiden of the Seasons within seconds. Her own power reared in her gut, threatening to spill out in response. She desperately reigned it in, but didn't dare lock it away.

"Yang." Blake's voice was low and steady, eyes never leaving the person before them, who might _look_ like Ruby, and even _talk_ like her, but it definitely wasn't.

It wasn't, but it was.

Yang couldn't breathe.

"What do we do?" Ilia asked behind them, but before either of them could answer, Ruby sighed dramatically, then grinned.

"Why don't you just go ahead and give it a try? You'll see how fun it is, I promise!"

She snapped her fingers. As if set off by a start pistol, the Grimm charged.

* * *

 **A/N:** And here we are. At the point where everything goes to shit. Those of you who've read Shattered Mirror, Poisoned Rose may recognize Ruby's personality. This was written before that story, so this was an inspiration for Demon Ruby's personality.


	13. Chapter 13: Twisted

**Chapter 13: Twisted**

"Protect the bull!" Blake yelled, the transmitter was on there and it had to remain undamaged. She had barely blinked before the first Grimm was leaping at her. A single swipe of her sword sent a forceful blast through the air which ripped the Grimm apart. Not especially strong then, just numerous. That at least meant they'd have a fighting chance—

"You're always so serious, Blake."

—and now there was a scythe around her neck. Blake froze, gritted her teeth and flashed a glare backwards at the carefree younger girl.

"I get that we've fought just about any Grimm in existence, but just give these a chance – we'll have lots of fun with them soon enough!"

Blake suddenly faced Ruby, well outside the range of her scythe, raising her gun at her friend and team leader while a flaming shadow clone remained at her previous position. Gunfire and explosion both failed to hit when Ruby dispersed into rose petals and shot after her. Blake kept firing, dodged with another clone and flipped in midair, trying to keep an eye on everywhere at once. Ruby's rose petals seemed to flutter everywhere at once. _What a pain!_ She fired her gun, blocked a swing with the cleaver, and dodged several more times before finding herself by Yang's side.

"What's going on!?" The blonde yelled while breaking a Grimm's neck. Her eyes and hair flamed as she slammed a foot into the ground, creating a chasm that ran across the school grounds and spewed flames that incinerated several more beasts. Solar flares and superheated winds tore through the ranks of Grimm, slowly but surely wearing their numbers down.

"I've no idea," Blake said, watching the red blur shoot through the air above them, "but whatever it is, it's gotten to Ruby."

Yang fired more flames at the Grimm and yelled in rage. "Ruby, dammit! Get down here and talk like a normal human being! I swear if this is some sort of prank—" she didn't get further before Ruby materialized before them once more, rose petals raining down beside her.

Blake raised her weapon and Yang clenched her jaw as her sister smiled at them with eyes of insanity. "It's fun, isn't it? Killing Grimm was always what we trained for, we all wanted to become huntresses after all!"

Behind and around them, White Fang fought the endless horde of Grimm in an overwhelming onslaught, it was only a matter of time before someone got injured.

Blake clenched her sword tighter. "Stop this right now!"

"Hmmm noooope." Ruby held her scythe at her back and rocked back on her feet, grinning sheepishly. "I don't want to."

"Dammit Ruby, what are you even doing!?" Blake snarled. "Are you trying to stop us from saving Vale? From saving our friends? And Weiss, she was with you, what did you do to her!?"

"Don't worry about Weiss! She's just got a lot to get used to right now, but I promise she'll be around to play soon too!"

Blake's body trembled with rage, but also trepidation and fear. She had no idea what to do, how to face this sort of situation. Not only that, but Yang looked beyond devastated, about ready to break down in a bawling mess. If things got really serious, Yang would be in danger, and there was no way Blake could face all these Grimm _and_ Ruby. If it was only one or the other, sure, she might even win… but with this unknown element thrown in, who knew if that was even plausible.

Besides, if what Ruby was saying was true, it sounded like Weiss was in danger.

"Yang…"

Yang blinked, and looked at Blake as if she just realized she was there. Totally out of it.

Blake fought to remain calm even as Ruby watched them curiously.

"You have to search for Weiss." And leave the fighting here to those who wouldn't be instantly ripped apart should things go really badly.

But Yang stared at her. "What? Blake, what'll you do? And we don't even know where she is!"

"Hm?" Ruby cocked her head. "I left her in the dorm. Did you know, our bunk beds are still there! All of our stuff is still around too, even our clothes, not that they'll fit us now. It's like travelling back in time, it's really cool!" Why was she telling them, was it a trap? No, Blake had to trust her gut feeling here. Ruby was just babbling, like her usual cheerful self. Whatever had happened to her, that part seemed largely intact.

"I'll keep Ruby distracted. Yang, go!" Blake shot forward, swinging Gambol Shroud only to drop down into a sweeping kick as Ruby raised Crescent Rose to parry. Blake's surprise manouver worked, not that knocking Ruby off her feet would have much of an effect for long.

At least Yang had taken the clue and forged ahead, flames and wind propelling her like a rocket across the school grounds. Blake twirled her sword and prepared to impale Ruby, only for the girl to vanish in a burst of petals.

 _This is bad!_

She leapt out of the way of a charging ursa and struck at its armored body with explosive force.

 _This is really bad!_

XXX

Yang hated herself. The feeling was so overwhelming, smothering and choking that focusing on anything else was close to impossible. She soared through the sky above countless Grimm, absentmindedly destroying any avian ones that came for her.

Again. _Again._ She'd done the same thing _again_ , and failed to be there for Ruby when she needed it. Dumped it all on Weiss, _again_. So what if it wasn't a falling out between the two of them this time – it didn't matter what the reason was, Yang's little sister was in a bad place and Yang had failed to be there when it counted. Now, her sister had become some sort of… weirdly cheerful corrupted version of a Grimm Salem or something. Seriously, what the hell _was_ that?

She had to be fast, get in, get Weiss, get back, get Ruby back to her senses – if that even _was_ Ruby, but it had to be, it had her voice, her face, her _eyes_ …

Snarling a roar of stress and guilt Yang launched herself forward and smashed into one of the Goliaths still roaming around the dorm building. Her punch alone cracked the shielding mask on its head and sent the giant beast kneeling to the ground. She landed on its exposed head with a devastating heel kick, which cracked it's skull, and ground beneath it as well. The shockwave blasted any nearby Grimm off their feet.

"I don't have time to fight you all!" Eyes aflame with the power of Spring Yang let loose a blast of torrential force, scorching the air and the earth every Grimm caught within it. Yang let herself soak in the overwhelming power surging within her before launching into the air once more with a blast of air, effortlessly landing on the dorm's roof. It'd been years since she'd last been here, but she still remembered where their window was at. Finding it was one thing, breaking through it another.

Glass rained over the bookshelf (which still held all of Blake's favourite books). The bunk beds, by some miracle, still remained, although one of the ropes holding Ruby's bed up had snapped, leaving it hanging precariously. There were even clothes strewn about and a couple of books lay open on the desk, the only thing remaining of Weiss' last study session. It was like the entire room had frozen in time, forever remaining in that same moment, and Yang almost expected Weiss to peek up from beneath her bed covers and scold her for sneaking in through the window again.

Only, she didn't. Weiss _was_ in her bed, like some ironic flash to the past, but she was not sleeping, and while snapping at Yang still happened to be one of her favourite pasttimes, she didn't seem likely to be able to spare any energy on that right now. She was busy clenching at her chest and gripping the sheets while her body spasmed. A brilliant glyph spun beneath her body, Yang recognized the clock motif, and also that this one was meant to slow down instead of speeding up.

Whatever was going on, Weiss was prolonging it as much as she could.

Yang stood over her with wide eyes, uncertain of whether touching her at all was wise. Blue eyes met lilac, unspoken words travelling between them. A patch of red blood soaked Weiss jacket near her heart. Her face was pale and sweaty, black veins spreading slowly across the surface.

Clenching her teeth, Yang fisted her hands.

"Dammit Ruby! What the hell is going on!?"

Leaving Weiss here was not an option. Despite Weiss' semblance, the inevitable would come, and when that happened she'd be better off back at Signal where they could at least keep an eye on her.

Making a decision she'd rather never take, Yang leaned in and hoisted Weiss into her arms. The white-haired girl gasped and shuddered as the glyph vanished, focus broken, and now this was a race against time. Now how to avoid dying while making their way back? Yang couldn't utilize her full power while carrying Weiss, could hardly punch a single Grimm without risking hurting her friend.

 _Of all the times I'd like to trade semblances…_ Ruby's speed was far better for this kind of work.

Squaring herself, Yang kicked the dorm room door open and dashed into the hallway, racing through the familiar building with her friend and teammate slowly deteriorating in her arms. Images flashed passed her mind, of the last time she'd been running here; that day when Beacon fell in flames and darkness. The joint on her arm ached. That was so long ago. She was past all that, had moved so far beyond the broken girl who'd lost her arm in that chaos.

Besides, that particular monster was dead.

Now her one objective was to reach the bullhead before her friend followed.

XXX

Flash, strike, thunder rolled overhead as Blake and Ruby kept exchanging blows, neither gaining the upperhand on the other. Not that things were at a standstill - White Fang had been pushed back into the bullhead by the numerous Grimm that kept swarming them. For each one slain, three more popped up, and Blake was too busy fending off her team leader to help Ilia and the others. She just prayed they had the presence of mind to pull back should their aura drain.

Shadow clones and rose petals intermixed and flashed all over the battlefield, quicker than the eye could follow. Even with fiery explosions of dust or flashy lightning bullets which scorched the ground and zapped Grimm as well as faunus, neither of the two main combatants were able to land a strike on the other. They'd slashed more holes in the air than anything solid and the only victim was their surroundings.

"Guah!" A strangled cry caught Blake's attention. With precious few moments between clashes, she spared a glance back at the bullhead. Ilia had been struck down, finally overpowered by the Grimm. She'd singlehandedly protected the bullhead for several minutes already, only backed up by the gunfire from the bull, where more than half their forces were reduced to exhausted victims of the onslaught.

"Ilia!" Blake shot down, using her semblance for boost, just in time to block the strike of a Grimm and letting Ilia stagger into the bullhead to join their comrades. Their gunshots were keeping the Grimm at large as of yet, but it was just a question of time now. They had to get out!

 _Yang, you better be fast!_

Blake struck the Grimm down and had just turned to look for Ruby again when the forceful kick of a gunshot struck her chest. "Gah!" The last of her aura finally drained and Blake collided with the side of the bullhead.

"Gotcha!"

Ruby struck her in a full body tackle, knocking her down. The redhead grinned from above Crescent Rose's gunform, aimed right at Blake's chest. Blake's heart jumped with terror at the maniacal grin Ruby sported. A single scrape and—!

But Ruby didn't fire, or deploy Crescent Rose's blade.

"You're just as stubborn as Weiss," she said, with a dejected note in her voice. "She tried to tell me off too, you know. It was a bit hard, but I really think she'll come around as soon as she's rested." Ruby cocked her head. "Why won't you see how much fun we could have?"

"Ruby, I… I don't understand. Why are you so hung up on this? What happened to you?"

Ruby groaned in exasperation. "Nothing _happened_ to me! I'm just saying we can have more fun this way! You wouldn't have to leave, or take Yang with you, and Weiss would stay – we'd just be huntresses, killing Grimm, just like we always wanted!"

"Ruby…" Blake's voice dwindled off, she was exhausted and her aura was gone, she couldn't even use her semblance. "We… we can't do that."

Her eyes narrowed, so Blake took the chance to keep talking. "Yes, we all wanted to be huntresses, but we all have our own things we want to do. That's why we wanted to fight in the first place! To be able to live our lives the way we want. It's what _everything_ has been about since the start. Why do you want to change that?"

Ruby sat silent for a long while, but rather than feeling reassured by that, it only made Blake's heart pound more harshly. Even the Grimm's furious assault on the bullhead slowly died off, until they stood, sniffed the air, and whimpered.

"That's not what _I_ want."

With a flash, Ruby's eyes lit up, startling Blake and the nearest Grimm alike. _What!?_ Blake's breath hitched as her gaze locked onto the bright pools of molten metal. It was a weapon meant for the Grimm – Blake couldn't for the life of her understand why Ruby used them now, which made her heart pound even faster. Her eyes began watering up as if she was looking right at the sun, the need to blink overwhelming, but she couldn't – couldn't tear her eyes away or blink, or even breathe. Something tugged deep beyond her eyes, a twinge which increased in sync to the flare in Ruby's eyes. Everything grew white and hazy, everything but the brilliant light – and the fire exploding out of nowhere.

Ruby was gone. In her place stood Yang, with Weiss across her shoulder, breathing hard and eyes aflame with a different kind of light. A warm and rage-filled fire. She roared as Ember Celica pumped gunshot after gunshot at Ruby, knocking her into the bullhead's metallic side over and over, and simultaneously yelling at Blake.

"Take Weiss, get into the bullhead!"

Blearily, Blake knew she had to move. Blinking desperately to try and restore her vision, she rolled to her side and sat up, supporting herself on her hands. Yang really had done everything she could to get here fast. There was a smoking trench in the ground leading up to the dorm building, with numerous smoking Grimm corpses littering the ground around it.

"Blake!" Yang more or less dumped Weiss on top of her, snapping Blake out of her stupor. Their white-haired friend was gasping for air and spasming as bonewhite growths were starting to sprout along her arms and legs. Not allowing her worry to overtake her, Blake grabbed Weiss by the waist and charged for the bullhead, pulling her teammate with her inside. Ilia helped them aboard, other comrades pushing them inside while still firing at the Grimm outside. The bullhead roared and shook as the engines started to lift the metallic mass into the air.

"Wait, Yang!" Blake, having barely put Weiss into a seat, shot back to the opening.

"We can't wait!" Ilia said, her skin was blue with worry. Blake grabbed her shoulder hard enough to make her wince and leaned out to look.

XXX

Yang tried to swallow her guilt and focus on the battle. Ruby was swift and almost impossible to hit, but she hadn't spent a year carrying this Spring power around without learning a few tricks. Hitting her sister with shotgun shells and punches may be impossible, but not even Ruby could dodge an area-wide thunderstorm. Fiery lightning and whipping winds tore through the rainy air, Yang's hair burned bright and every vein in her body pumped with power.

"Ruby!"

Her little sister appeared in a flash of petals and Crescent Rose collided with Yang's metal arm. Yang swung her other fist at Ruby's side, sending her flying. Ruby hooked her scythe into the ground, halting her flight, and began pulling the trigger. Round after round exploded against Yang's aura harmlessly.

"Don't make me beat you up, Ruby!" Yang shot forward, throwing more punches that Ruby barely blocked with Crescent Rose. Flames and blinding flashes and cracking ground turned the battleground into a one-sided slaughter, power thrumming through Yang's chest and down into her very fingertips. Ruby twirled Crescent Rose around, eyes igniting with light.

Numbing rage crashed with cold indifference and the Beacon courtyard was consumed in the ensuing blast.

XXX

Blake could only see the flash from afar.

"Yang… Ruby, no…" Her knees felt weak, and she barely managed to keep her balance when the bullhead suddenly jolted and screeched.

"Ah shit, the engine is still having trouble!" one of her comrades stated. "We did a temporary fix, but we won't be getting far in this. We have to land as soon as possible!"

Blake wasn't listening. She stared, numbed to the bone, at the Beacon docks which quickly grew smaller outside the windows.

"Blake!"

Her name being called pulled her around, slowly, numbingly trying to pry her mind back to the present situation. The situation being Weiss.

Weiss had begun thrashing and howling in pain, her body spasming violently as spikes and black veins spread across her limbs. Blake stared speechlessly, before hurriedly tossing orders out.

"You two – ropes! Ilia, can you pin her down? Everyone else, get ready!" For what, she didn't know, but the deployment of various weaponry as the White Fang surrounded the shrieking form of Weiss at least ensured they knew where the threat was. Ilia slashed out with her weapon, impaling Weiss's shoulder and pinning her to the seat. The attack, and Weiss' shriek, was eerily reminiscent of how she'd injured Sun, so long ago.

Blake grabbed one end of a rope handed to her and leapt in, binding it tight around Weiss' torso and securing it to the seat. It probably wouldn't hold long, judging from the spasmic growth Weiss was going through.

"Dammit, Weiss! I'm not losing you too! I'm not!" Blake shrieked and tugged the rope tighter, glaring down at her friend with blurred eyes. "Don't leave me, please…!"

XXX

It wasn't even pain. Every nerve in her body must have evaporated, because Yang felt _nothing_. Her ears rang with noiseless sound and her vision swam with bright light and strange colours. She blinked, or tried to blink, but she couldn't tell if the motion actually happened or not. She might as well have been flapping helplessly around in the air. Was her body even still in one piece? She remembered light, blindingly overwhelming, and pain unlike anything she'd ever felt before. Her arms… her legs…? Shit, she couldn't feel anything.

She had this odd feeling that someone was close by, Ruby, it had to be. Filled with a sudden urgency, Yang forced her limbs to move, she thought they moved, and tilted her head, trying to make out anything but white.

"R-Ruby?" Her voice was just a coarse whisper and using it sent a burn down her throat which lapsed into painful coughing. And she still couldn't _see_.

Sound was returning though, diffuse and weird over the ringing noise. A sniffing sound much like crying stood out, and her heart twisted, which manifested itself throughout her body as an intense ache. Ruby was crying.

Yang weakly moved her fingers, and brushed by something – cloth. Grasping onto it numbly, she tried to move the rest of her body along. Her right side shoulder scraped at the ground – so her arm was gone, but that didn't matter right now. She might be unable to see, but she could hear and move and… she collapsed onto Ruby, trying to envelop her in a hug, and couldn't.

The floppy mishandled hug did cause the sniffling to stop momentarily though. Then Ruby's arms embraced her in return and she cried into Yang's shoulder.

That was it, that was all she could do right now. She couldn't move, couldn't talk, or fix anything, but she could just be a big sister.

XXX

The bullhead crashed to the ground in a mass of screeching metal and shattering asphalt. It slid along the street and collided with the side of a building, throwing everyone inside around once more. Then, it was over, the bullhead lay still. And then the smoke began seeping into the cargo bay.

"Evacuate ship!" Blake ordered, which set everyone into motion. "Ilia, help me with Weiss!"

Weiss had been calm for the past few minutes, just breathing in heavy, guttural gasps. The second Blake approached however, a roar escaped the girl. The ropes snapped as she lunged forward, slashing at Blake with a deformed arm, claws ripping through an empty shadowclone.

"Weiss!" Blake raised her weapons as Weiss rose from the chair, her face half-consumed by black veins and a single eye as red as blood. A look at Ilia and her friend nodded, brandishing her weapon and readying it in preparation to pin Weiss down once more. Before she could, however, Weiss clasped her hands to her face and screamed, a guttural sound mixed with the anguished voice Blake recognized as human.

Ilia froze, and Blake tensed, while Weiss fell to her knees and banged her head into the floor with an audible _CLANG._

Silence followed, apart from the frenzied shouts of their comrades outside the bullhead.

Blake testingly slid forward, and when Weiss didn't look up, she squatted in front of her. Gambol Shroud was still in her hand, just in case.

"Weiss? Are you with us?"

Slowly, the white-haired head rose, and a tear-streaked face looked up at Blake.

"B-Blake…"

Blake grabbed her arm – the one that still looked human – and helped her up. "We have to get out of here. We're close to the Vale safe house, just hold on a bit more. We'll get you back to Oobleck, he might have found something by now!"

They hobbled out of the wrecked bullhead together, into the pouring rain. Thunder cracked overhead, flashing a brilliant white and causing a shudder to run down Blake's back as she remembered the last she'd seen of Yang. Dammit… this was all messed up! When they'd left Menagerie, it was knowing they'd be going to end it all. The last battle against Grimm, the final confrontation to free Vale, and return Remnant to a time of peace. They'd been fighting so long for the chance to recover, rebuild and return to a semblance of normal life.

And now everything was falling apart around her and _she could do nothing_. She wished Sun was here, or her parents, anyone she could lean into and cry her heart out with. Yang…

Blake didn't care to wipe her face, even if some of the water had to be tears. It didn't matter, she could cry an ocean and it wouldn't change anything. Right now, she had to get Weiss back to Signal. After that…

After that she would allow herself to think once more.

* * *

 **A/N:**...

...

...

Well, my work is done here. Onwards!

Next chapter: Unravel.


	14. Chapter 14: Unravel

**Chapter 14: Unravel**

The atmosphere in Oobleck's office was strained, so to speak. They'd talked, and listened, and theorized, and asked questions, and in the end they all felt completely deflated.

The silence was broken by Qrow's fist hitting the wall.

"Dammit!"

The southern defenders had returned once it became clear that no Grimm was leaving Beacon at the moment. The same could be said of the rescue squad that had entered Vale in search of survivors. A few had been found, but many more were still missing. Presumably, they were no longer in the city.

Oscar had returned with them, and was as filled with confusion and indecision as everyone else upon learning what had happened at Beacon.

"If only Ozpin…" Qrow's deflated mutter tugged at an uncomfortable part of his soul. Oscar clasped his arm and looked over at the only member of team RWBY still standing.

Blake had obviously been crying, her eyes bloodshot and heavy bags under her eyes as if she hadn't slept in days. Oscar knew she'd already spent a good portion of the day with Weiss, until Weiss had finally drifted off in a restless sleep under several watchful eyes. It must have been draining, yet Blake stood tall, as imposing as ever, and more than a little intimidating.

Oscar soundlessly opened his mouth, then pushed himself to speak up. "Did… did Ruby really do that… to Weiss?" It was hard to believe that, just meters away lay that white-haired beauty in a state nobody had seen before.

Blake glanced at him, and even though he knew the dark look wasn't exactly meant for him, it still made him wince.

"Weiss said she tried to stop Ruby. It... didn't work, and now we're…" her hands clenched and she trailed off, biting her lip.

Knowing better than to bring up Yang, Oscar looked from her to the other occupants in the room. Glynda stood by the wall with a stone mask on her face, and Taiyang Xiao Long sat in a chair with his face in his hands. He hadn't said a word in a long time, and nobody disturbed him either.

Headmaster Kong stood by Oobleck's desk, arms folded across his blacksmith apron, grunting quietly every now and then and not looking at anyone.

"Oobleck gave her a shot with experimental medicine. It… seems to slow things down." Blake's voice came out as a hiss.

"That is accurate, Miss Belladonna."

As if out of thin air, Oobleck himself appeared in the door opening. He already stood in his infamous lecture mode, one hand on his back and a finger pointed right up.

"I have analyzed Miss Schnee's condition and what you told of the events that transpired in the Beacon courtyard and I have reached a conclusion which I believe is the most hypothetically correct... conclusion."

It took more than a few brain cells to follow that train of words.

"And what _is_ your conclusion?" Qrow drawled, without looking up from the wall.

Oobleck cleared his throat. "All available evidence except the blood sample indicate that Miss Rose is indeed infected. In that case, her infection works on a different scale and level than any of those we've previously seen. I believe this is a result from her very nature clashing with that of the infection itself. I believe, rather than attacking through her blood, this infection is anchored more deeply into her very psyche."

It made his heart squirm painfully, but Oscar was still confused. "So… what does that mean?"

Oobleck bent down to his face. "I have absolutely no idea."

"What?" Blake exclaimed. "But you—"

"Dear girl, I'm not saying I can explain everything about this situation as I most surely cannot. According to Miss Schnee, Miss Rose believed a certain individual was still around to impact her mind, which does not bode well for our cause."

Blake's ears lay flat on her head. "Salem…"

The name sent chills throughout the room. Even headmaster Kong narrowed his eyes. "She's dead!"

"Indeed." Oobleck was as calm as always, a stark contrast to his swift speaking. "But is she _gone_?"

Silence.

Blake eventually shifted. "Ruby's… been struggling a lot… ever since that day…"

"She's been having those nosebleeds," Oscar quietly agreed. "She thought I didn't notice at first, but…"

"And nightmares," Qrow breathed. "Fuck."

"We thought it was just stress, but all this time, could she…" Blake looked at Oobleck.

"I believe Miss Rose has battled this infection far longer than any of us can imagine. It has simply reached a point where even her unique nature can no longer resist it."

"Then what do we _do_?" Blake pressed, and pulled back when the huge headmaster stood. His dark eyes surveyed every one of them, lingering on the still form of Taiyang in the back of the room.

Then, the headmaster looked to Oobleck.

"Should we kill the girl?"

"What!?" Blake's outcry only underlined the sudden tension around them. But the headmaster's eyes stayed unblinking.

"The silver-eyed girl. Is she enough of a threat that we need to consider the worst case scenario?"

Oobleck opened his mouth, but Blake cut in front of him. "No way! Ruby's not – she's not – we can't just do that!"

"Blake." Qrow's sharp but tempered voice stopped her before she could continue. "If what you're both saying is true, Yang is in danger."

To everyone's surprise, Taiyang suddenly broke down in sobs. Qrow looked over at him, and then at Glynda. "Get him out of here. Please."

She nodded and took Tai by the arm, helping the man out. His sobs vanished down the corridor. In the silence that followed, Qrow adopted a sharp look in his eyes. "We'll do what we have to. If Yang's already—"

"Stop!" Blake yelled. "Stop, just stop! Yang's not – dead! She can't be dead, Ruby'd never kill her. She didn't even kill Cinder! She's—" she struggled to get the words out, her whole body was shaking, "she's alive… and Ruby… I… she tried to tell me. What she was thinking. I-I didn't get it, not really, but… I think she's…"

"She's… scared." A cracked voice ended her sentence. Behind Oobleck, in the doorway, stood Weiss. Or rather, Weiss was leaning on the doorframe, heaving for air. Her one black eye glowed a disturbing red in its depth, and she cradled her inhuman arm with her good one.

"Weiss!?"

"Young girl, you were to stay—" Oobleck started, and was cut off when Weiss snarled, nothing short of the beastly sound from an ursa.

"I'm not staying anywhere! We need to go back, we need to talk to Ruby. I know I can reach her, I just—" she stopped and winced, and Oscar pulled back slightly as her entire body seemed to convulse. Tiny, bonewhite jagging growths littered her skin, like the prickly surface of a cactus.

Blake reached for her. "Weiss, you're in no state to—"

"No, I'm not!" Weiss pushed her away with a heave. "And it's just going to get worse, and I can't be of _any_ help if I can't even think. It's… hard, now even." She pulled a deep breath and raised her head to look at the room. "But Ruby is _my_ partner, my – my best friend. I can't just… leave it like this. And if it doesn't work… at least I _tried_."

Nobody opposed her. It wasn't like they could. There was no doubt which direction Weis' condition was heading.

"And Ruby is scared. I, I didn't get it first either. I tried to tag along with her first, tried to get her back to her senses. She kept talking about destiny and duty and how she's nothing but a Grimm killer. That… that there'll be nothing left once the Grimm is gone. I think… coupled with that infection, or whatever it is, her fear finally…"

Headmaster Kong rumbled deep in his throat. "You want to try and bring her back."

"I have to… try…" Weiss breathed, ready to collapse. Blake moved before Oscar could, catching her by her still human arm, the only part of her not covered in tiny spikes. Then, Blake looked back into the room with a steely gaze.

"We're going. And we're getting them _both_ back."

Watching them struggle like this fired up something in Oscar's chest too. He clenched his hands.

"I want to come too."

They looked at him, surprised, and then Qrow sighed.

"Well, if the pipsqueak's going, someone oughta come and look after him."

Oscar blushed, and headmaster Kong rumbled agreeably. "We'll set you up with a new bullhead. The transmitter was retrieved unharmed, and should still be a focus point. We need reinforcements no matter what happens from here on out."

XXX

Yang's eyes still failed to show her anything but white, and her ears sang with a high-pitched melody. She _was_ starting to regain feeling in her body, and now she wished she didn't. The pain was so searing that it threatened to split her head, more so than the time she lost her arm. That had been swift, a clean cut, and largely focused around the actual wound. Now her whole body ached and burned, and it just _sucked so damn much_.

She might have passed out at some point, because now, instead of gravel and bricks, she felt carpet under her. Her right arm was still missing, and unable to make a sound, she was a mess and helpless about it. Something crawled under her skin, a living pressure which kept building and building, like a balloon filling with air to the brimming point. It felt like reality would tear apart if she were to let it out.

A hand stroked through her hair and helped her up, only for her to be enveloped in a familiar embrace. The smell of roses never left Ruby no matter how much time passed, and Yang let herself drown in it for just a moment, willing to forget all the shit that was going on.

"You're really battered." Ruby's voice was gentle and somber. Yang leaned into the hug, and maybe she cried; she couldn't feel her eyes, but it felt like it. In return, Ruby hugged her harder. "I'm so sorry, Yang, I didn't mean to hurt you, I just… I don't know what to do. I… I don't want to be alone. Please, don't leave me…"

 _I won't._ Yang wanted to hold Ruby's hand and ensure her, that her big sister was here, they'd be fine… but she couldn't raise her own hand to do it.

"I–I'm so sorry," Ruby cried, "Weiss, Nora… everyone…" Then she tensed, clutching at Yang with all her might. A cry of pain tore from her throat and Yang's heart responded with a powerful throb. Something slipped from her grasp, a leash or chain where the lock had opened. The rush of warmth that followed nearly elevated her from the ground.

"I'm here, Yang… I won't let you go. I promise we'll be together!"

Spring's power welled forth. Fire burst through her veins and Yang's breath hitched as her body throbbed. A releasing rush of strength filled her from the inside out. Her thoughts washed out, she lost grasp on what little reality she had, and all that mattered was Ruby.

Ruby was here, and Yang was here, and they were together.

XXX

The dorm building at Beacon Academy burst apart. Wood and roof tiles flew in every direction as a massive beast reared its head, stretching enormous wings and demolishing walls in the process. A powerful tail snapped and smashed into the ground, ripping a great trench into it and sending lesser Grimm squirming for cover.

"What is _that_?" Ilia asked, staring in horror out of the bullhead's windows. She wasn't the only one. The giant beast had pulled the attention of every passenger aboard the bullhead, White Fang and huntsmen alike.

Blake couldn't speak, her throat was too dry. The beast that had just seemingly grown out of nowhere was so huge, and exuded so much power it sent tingles over her skin even from this distance. Jagged spikes ran along its enormous back, a wild flaring mane of white fire dancing like hair, brilliant white horns growing from its forehead and curling up above its head. A jagged white Grimm mask with red and yellow lines covered its face.

"It's… a Grimm?" Oscar breathed, almost soundlessly. Qrow and Taiyang stood equally stunned, until Qrow grabbed his flask and emptied it all in one go.

The massive dragon roared and raised an equally massive leg, crushing what remained of a wall and pulling a deep breath. Yellow and red lines lit up across its entire body as it pulled in air, and Blake knew what would happen before it did. Flames and lightning burst out of its mouth, a hellish cone of death spreading across the courtyard and eviscerating the Grimm in proximity. A fume of steam rose as the rain evaporated against the enormous heat, and once every single Grimm within range was gone, the dragon shook off any remaining debris and took a crushing step out of the dorm building.

Someone had run a stake through Blake's heart and her lips felt numb. "Yang…"

"She went and made herself a Maiden Grimm dragon," Qrow stated hoarsely. "Well now. That's something new, at least."

The dragon looked up and roared, but even if its glowing eyes locked onto the bullhead, it didn't attack. Surely, it knew it could take it down in a single strike; there was no way they could steer the bull away in time.

"What's… going… on…?" Weiss groaned from her seat, where she'd deployed another time slow glyph to boost the effect of Oobleck's medication. The glyph faded as she tried to stand, only to stumble and catch herself on another seat.

"I don't know." Blake admitted. She felt completely empty. "I don't know what's happening. What we can _do_."

"Hey, now's not the time to give up," Qrow drawled. "That was two hours ago, and you didn't then. Sure, this might _look_ bleak, but at least they're both alive, right?"

Blake glared, he shrugged, and she sighed. "Just so you know, I really want to punch you in the face now."

"Alright, kitten, see, if this doesn't work _and_ we all survive, I'll hold you up on that." He swirled his flask around, eying it wistfully. "So, what's the plan?"

Blake glared at the massive dragon, trying to ignore the insistent throb of her heart. She looked at the numerous flying Grimm circling Beacon tower, and clenched a hand. Weiss came up beside her, heaving for air and cradling her spiked Grimm arm. They shared a look, and Blake steeled herself.

"You go straight for the tower. Weiss and I need to find Ruby."

"Are you sure you two should go alone?"

"We are her team. I mean, Ruby seems to have become obsessed about that more than anything else. We can't risk doing something that she'll think of as an attack."

Nobody rebutted that. It wasn't like anyone had any better ideas.

* * *

 **A/N:** There's a satisfying moment when all the buildup in a story just kind of bursts. Expect the last few chapters to be out in rapid succession.

To everyone who reviews: Thank you. Feedback is so important to let me know if what I do is appreciated or not. I can't express enough gratitude to those of you who care to leave a few words of what you think. That's the only way I can keep improving.

I'm not all that happy about the first scene here; I'd rather have avoided another "meeting scene". A full rewrite might have changed some things around to solve it differently, but it is what it is this time.

Next time: Annihilation.


	15. Chapter 15: Annihilation

**Chapter 15: Annihilation**

A fireworks display soared across the Beacon grounds. Dust of all kinds – fire, ice, lightning – semblances and gunshots exploded in every direction from the bullhead, taking out any avian Grimm attempting to intercept the transport ship.

"The tower is within distance!"

"Status on Grimm?"

"Clear for now, but the dragon's moving!"

Blake and Weiss turned as one. The massive dragon roared, sending tremors through the air which caused the entire ship to shake. Then the Grimm flapped its wings and rose into the air, sending torrents of air across the ground as it ascended, and blowing its brethren away.

"It's coming!" Someone yelled, but there was nothing they could do. The dragon's wings carried it up and forward, passing by the side of the bullhead. The airship shook and shuddered from the blast of air that followed a flapping wing, losing several meters. Alarms began blaring, and Blake grabbed onto the nearest seat and barely remained standing.

It hadn't attacked the bullhead, but the dragon was on its way to a different target altogether.

"It's going to hit the tower!"

All they could was watch as the dragon crashed into Beacon tower. Like a horrible flash into the past, the giant beast ripped the tower apart on its foundation, sending the entire thing crumbling to the ground.

"Shit, turn around!"

"We can't leave now!"

Lightning flashed above, rumbles following within a heartbeat – the rain was so thick they could barely see the beast turn and gather another mouthful of air, the glowing lines on its body giving it away.

It was too late to try and evade, but the dragon didn't aim for the bullhead. Instead, what was left of Beacon vanished beneath the sea of flames, and the aircraft shook and rattled once more, from the sheer force alone. Buildings, rubble, debris and Grimm, everything vanished in the massive sea of flames and light. Then something crashed through one of the bullhead's windows, and one White Fang member screamed as his torso was impaled against the bullhead's wall by a giant red scythe.

"Ruby!" Blake yelled at her team leader, whose greeting consisted of a bright "Hey Blake!" as she pulled Crescent Rose out of the wall and let the poor guy fall to the floor in a lifeless heap. His aura flickered and died as it fruitlessly tried to heal the wound that had already punctured his heart. Blake silently closed her eyes and pulled a deep breath. They knew this would be risky, but losing lives against what should be an ally was too sad.

Weiss hissed in pain beside Blake. "Ruby…"

There was a moment where Ruby hissed and clenched her eyes shut, but then, she stared at them and grinned brightly.

"Oooooh." She closed in on Weiss and leaning in to stare at her face. Her silver eyes were more bloodshot than before, and streaks of tears had dried on her cheeks. "You look like a half-transformed Grimm, Weiss. That's so cool! How'd you do that?"

Weiss was frozen in terror or anger or both, and didn't protest when Blake stepped up to her.

"Ruby, why are you here?"

For a second Ruby looked completely lost, but then she lit up. "Oh, right! I came to get you!"

Blake's hand clenched around Gambol Shroud. "Get… us?"

"Yeah! Yang's—" wince, "she's waiting too!"

The sound of cocking guns surrounded them. Every fighter on the ship had turned their weapons against Ruby.

"Ruby, you gotta snap out of this." Qrow's hoarse voice broke the ensuing silence.

"No, don't! Lower your weapons!" Blake commanded, and at least Ilia and the White Fang hesitantly did as told. As did Oscar, eyes wide as he stared at Ruby, but Qrow didn't budge.

"Ruby." Her uncle growled.

Ruby sighed, rubbing her temple with one hand and resting her scythe on one shoulder. "Don't be so tense, uncle Qrow. You're gonna hurt your leg again."

"What did you do to your sister?"

"Sheesh, I just fought her, and then there's the rain and well, that's what happens! It's not like I hid her away or anything." Ruby gestured at the giant dragon which currently soared through the sky and clamped its jaws around any Grimm it could catch. "She even eats all the Grimm," Ruby added with a sour expression, and then she turned back to Weiss and Blake. "Anyway, we gotta leave, so let's go!"

Blake tried to ignore the cold sweat in her neck. "Where are we going?"

Ruby threw an arm out. "To Vale, duh! If we're gonna keep the Grimm from going extinct, we need some new spawn grounds. And there's plenty of people around there still, refugees and whatnot. Oh, and I kinda want ice cream, so maybe we could stop for that too!"

"Snap out of it, Ruby!" Qrow growled. "You're letting that woman get to your head, you're stronger than that!"

"Will you _shut up_?" Ruby snarled back, but paused when Blake pointed Gambol Shroud at her head. Silver eyes glanced back at her teammate in surprise.

"We're not going, Ruby. You have to listen to us. Can… can we still save Yang?" Her voice cracked, and tears gathered in the corners of her eyes.

Ruby's glare narrowed, silver growing eerily bright. Black oil began seeping into the white of her eyes. Cold rushed down Blake's spine, while Weiss hissed beside her, gripping her Grimm arm as if it somehow reacted to the change before them.

"You're all so _boring_. Save this, save that, oh please, just kill all our problems and let us live our dreams, yadda yadda. God, like I haven't heard it before." She hissed again and slapped a hand to her head. "Just stop being so fricking _annoying_!"

This wasn't Ruby. Yet it was. It was every pent up frustration and bottled up feelings pouring into a terrible corruption. Blake didn't know what to do, her hand shook. She should shoot, but she couldn't.

A slow tug on her sleeve snapped Blake out of the near blind terror. Weiss reached up and took Blake's arm, pulling it and the weapon down.

"Ruby, we… we don't understand," the white-haired girl said, panting a little. "Not completely. You have to tell us what you're thinking."

To Blake's surprise, Ruby actually looked bashful at that, the black in her eyes receding a little.

"W-Weiss, I'm sorry, I know I'm not any good at this, _talking_ thing. I just… really want us to be together."

"I know." Weiss pulled a deep breath and eyed the other people in the room, silently pleading for their cooperation. "Please, just… take us to Yang, and we'll talk. I promise… promise we'll listen."

Away from the ship. Away from any more potential victims. Blake understood Weiss' reasoning, but it didn't scare her any less. If Weiss lost herself as well, Blake would be all alone in trying to talk Ruby down. She didn't think she could do that.

But they had to try.

Qrow looked like he'd just ate a whole lemon. "Fine. Get out of here. We gotta get this transmitter up somehow." He looked at Blake as he spoke. "Just make sure you make the right choice."

The implication was heavy. It wasn't like the discussion on whether or not to end a life had been forgotten. Blake steeled herself and nodded. Then she turned and punched the button by the doors, causing them to screech open.

"Let's go."

Ruby beamed, and skipped forward, putting two fingers to her mouth and whistling through the sound of rain and engines. Nothing could possibly have heard it through that noise, but suddenly the dragon was there, massive wings carrying it up below the aircraft. Its back ready for them to board.

"Come on!" Ruby waved them along and jumped out first, and, after sharing another glance with Qrow, Blake took Weiss' hand and followed. Her semblance blitzed them both forward, leaving dissipating shadows in their wake.

Once they landed on the Grimm's back, the dragon turned away from the bullhead and flapped its massive wings. Ruby bent down and patted the dragon's neck.

"Alright Yang, let's go for it!"

The dragon snorted, turned in midair, and gathered a great breath.

"What!?" Blake hung onto a spike for dear life as the body beneath them filled with power, and then – a burst of fire, wind and lightning tore through the air and ripped the bullhead apart. Blake stared in horror as the pieces fell – did aura even shield against an attack like that?

It didn't matter. The transmitter wouldn't have survived, and they were stuck in a wasteland with nothing but Grimm and corruption surrounding them. They had to focus now, not panic. They'd only get one shot at this… probably.

The dragon flapped its wings again and soared across Beacon's grounds. Ruby smiled as she faced Blake and Weiss. "Alright, now we're together for real!"

Still, not lashing out at the girl who so carelessly attacked their friends was difficult. Blake gripped Gambol Shroud tighter and beside her, Weiss pulled out Myrtenaster despite heaving for air. Lightning flickered overhead and ignited the silver eyes opposite them in an eerie glow.

"She's no stronger than before," Blake said, "just don't let her pin you down."

"Thanks, I'm aware," Weiss replied sharply. "And have you seen where we're standing? Strength doesn't even matter if she can command the dragon as she wants. We're at a severe disadvantage, Blake."

The dragon was already soaring across the water separating Beacon from Vale. Blake had to pull a deep breath to calm herself. Focus.

"Yeah. Which is why…"

"…we don't fight."

Surrounded by rain and the sound of flapping wings, they both stabbed their weapons into the dragon's back, not even eliciting a jerk from the massive beast. They hadn't more than done so before they were both tackled by a red blur, and pulled into a hug.

"You guys are the best! Team RWBY's the best!"

She meant to pull back, but Weiss took her arm, capturing her attention. With great effort, she spoke as clear as she could through the growing cloud in her head.

"Ruby, I'm not letting you slip away."

Ruby blinked twice. "Huh?"

She grit her teeth. "Don't do this. I… didn't see. I thought we were working towards a common goal. I thought… that all that remained was sorting out the situation in Vale. I've been so cooped up with Atlas, my family and the Schnee Dust Company that I forgot… to be your partner."

Ruby's eye portrayed nothing but confusion, so Weiss continued: "I know I should have seen it before, I should have picked it up much sooner! You're terrible at sharing your own worries and thoughts, but you tried to tell me, to tell us, as bluntly as you could, and we still failed. I failed! I know you're scared, but I promise – you won't be left behind, I will personally ensure you have something to go to after this is all over!" Her voice rose, and cracked, as the pain in her body grew to agonizing levels, and by the end she was heaving for breath, despite Blake's reassuring hand on her back.

Her partner blinked again. "Weiss… what are you talking about? I'm the Grimm Reaper, the silver eyed warrior, and I kill Grimm. It's really just that simple!"

"You call this killing Grimm?" Blake asked, a sharp edge in her tone. She gestured to the dragon, and the storm. "You turned your own sister into a dragon! Things are just getting worse by the minute!"

Ruby stepped back, looking bewildered.

"But… if I don't do this, we'll run out of Grimm…"

Weiss forced herself to look up. "Ruby, that's the core of the problem. Once we wipe out the Grimm, you don't know what you're supposed to be doing anymore, do you? There'll be no need for huntsmen and huntresses and you're afraid to be left behind."

Ruby stepped back again, colliding with one of the great spikes littering the dragon's back. As if sensing her trepidation, the dragon roared and made a circle in the air, as if trying to find whatever it as that caused its master – her _sister_ – unease.

"W-Well, what am I supposed to do then!?" Ruby protested, and Weiss was glad – even though it was somewhat cruel – to see her eyes glitter with tears. "I'm not – I'm not the heiress to some great company, or the next leader of White Fang, or the next in line to lead a tribe of warriors, and I—" her breath hitched and her lips trembled as she shrunk back into her cloak, "I shouldn't feel like this, I know I'm selfish and… and I don't know what to do…" her hands clenched and she looked up, furious despite the tears no falling freely. "What should I do, Weiss!?"

No matter how much she'd have liked to come up with the magical, Weiss slowly shook her head.

"I don't know, Ruby."

A screeching nevermore soared by overhead, but didn't even attempt to get close.

"I don't know… but you're my best friend, my partner. I promise you, I'll help you find what purpose you can. If – if you'd like, you can return to Atlas with me. More than likely, I will be needing help in regaining the trust of several important business partners, not all of whom have been… particularly _pleased_ with the company's policies over the last few years."

"You're always welcome to join Yang and me as well," Blake added, trying not to look at the dragon's head as it searched the sky for more Grimm to eat.

Ruby wiped her face with her sleeve and clenched her jaw. "So either a glorified bodyguard or a third wheel."

"That's not what we—" Blake started, and winced when Ruby cut her off.

"Even if it's not what you mean, it's the _truth_!"

White lightning split overhead. It seemed like a standstill, but something was changing. Black mist started drifting into the air, steadily growing in density from around the distraught girl. Weiss took a tentative step forward, closing in on her partner.

"Ruby, no matter what, you'll always be the hero who took down Salem. Whatever you wish to do, it will be Remnant's gift to you to grant it."

"It's impossible," Ruby muttered, staring down and not at any of them. She looked so small. "The only thing I want is to hunt Grimm."

Another step. Weiss was starting to feel lightheaded, but she forced herself to focus on Ruby. They were so _close._

"That's not the only thing you can do."

Flash, and a thunder split the sky. The dragon beneath them roared in response, finally descending to land in the streets of Vale, crashing through several buildings as if they were simple building blocks. The jolt threw Weiss off-balance and she staggered forward, gripping Ruby by the shoulders both to steady herself and to keep the girl within eyesight. Ruby refused to meet her eyes.

"You forget," Weiss muttered, "you're more than a huntress. You're Ruby Rose, someone who managed to pull the most misfit group of people together and form a team. You're—" she had to pause as her sight swivelled, it felt like her mind was being drained right out of her and left her feeling airheaded.

"You're the reason Yang is coming with me," Blake stepped up beside them, putting her own hand on Ruby's shoulder. "If it weren't for you, we'd never have made up after reuniting. Even when Yang struggled with her mother… I don't know anyone who could have reached out to her the way you did. I tried to be there, but you're the one who made it possible."

Ruby was outright crying now, sliding down along the dragon's spike. Around them, the black dust rose in great twirls, and the dragon roared beneath them.

Weiss pulled Ruby into a one-armed hug, one which Blake joined a second later.

"I-I didn't want this!" Ruby cried and hiccupped into their embrace. "I tried s-so hard to be glad for you guys… I just want you to be happy!"

"And we want _you_ to be happy as well," Weiss muttered. "I'm so sorry for not seeing it earlier."

"Ruby," Blake added, "we believe there's an infection in your body. I'm sorry for making light of it when you told us before... but you _have_ to hold on!"

"You can fight it," Weiss murmured into Ruby's ear from her position. She noted, belatedly, that the black mist rising from Ruby's shoulders had spread to her own disfigured arm. She was feeling lighter by the second.

Not even allowing herself to hope, Weiss held onto Ruby more firmly as the redhead cried and trembled. Her cries was becoming laced with pain, she began struggling in their grasp but they did not let go, and Ruby slapped a hand to her head as if wanting to claw open the scar in her hairline. Was it coincidence that the storm overhead was growing more and more violent by the second? Lightning strikes split the sky and lit up the black skies, ripping through and briefly revealing the sky beyond. Black dust poured from Ruby in droves, increasing her struggles against them as she tried to twist away, despite being too weak to do so.

"You can do it, Ruby!" Blake growled and tightened her hold around Ruby's torso, while Weiss clenched harder onto her shoulders.

"M-My head hurts!" Ruby cried and tried to bash her head against the bony spike behind her, only stopped by Weiss' hand. Ruby's eyes twinkled oddly as she blinked, igniting with that power which had saved them so many times. Elation filled Weiss at the sight. _It's working!_

Ruby strained against them, crying out and clenching her eyes shut, only for them to shoot open a moment later, brilliantly white. Light spilled out, burning against Weiss' arm, and the dragon shrieked in pain, bucking beneath them – lightning crossed the sky in brilliant flashes and black dust seeped upwards all around them. Through the rain and the black mist, the sky erupted in white lightning which swallowed everything – and Weiss' grip slipped up as her consciousness finally let go.


	16. Chapter 16: Purpose

**Chapter 16: Purpose**

Ruby hung in the air, helplessly staring at Salem's red and black pupils. Her feet dangled uselessly above the floor and the witch's hand grasped around her throat. It was becoming difficult to see with the blood pouring into her eyes from the wound in her head, but Ruby did her best to glare nonetheless.

It was all she _could_ do, right now.

"Dear child, I see you're dying to tell me something." Salem's voice was so sickeningly calm and collected, like slaughtering thousands of humans and faunus was just something she did between lunch and dinner. The hand that wasn't busy strangling Ruby carefully caressed her face. "Do speak up."

Ruby struggled for air, narrowing her glare and trying a kick at the woman, which failed to even reach her. For all her growth spurt, Ruby still wasn't Yang or Blake.

"Screw… you…" she croaked out, and the amused twinkle in Salem's eyes just poured oil onto the fire in her soul. The Grimm Witch cocked her head slightly.

"Let us see then. What will it look like… once _your_ soul burns out?"

"Ruby…" from the side of the room, Oscar groaned helplessly. He was covered in bruises, and the tentacles of the Seer Grimm tightened around his torso when he tried to move. Completely paralyzed and unable to help. They'd been severely outmatched.

Nobody else was coming. Qrow was hurt, Jaune was down, and those who remained standing were busy keeping the Ancients off of Salem's hideout.

To pave way for them. To allow Ruby, and Ozpin, to finish the witch off.

Each and every hope, future, life was put in their hands, and they'd failed as miserably as that day on top of Beacon tower. Ruby's jaw ached from the strain of her clenched teeth, she was starting to feel light headed. Crescent Rose lay on the ground beneath her, all but useless against a foe she couldn't hit. If only she could control those stupid eyes—

"Oh?" Salem's sudden interest scared her, though she refused to let it show. The witch leaned closer, as if she'd seen something interesting. "Is that the key, then?" Her hand squeezed harder and Ruby gasped for air, failing to pull any in.

Her gaze was blackening at the edges. She'd failed, just like Cinder had said she would. She'd ran right into the hands of the enemy, just like Qrow had warned her about. She'd thrown her life away, just like—

A familiar heat grew in her chest as she gasped uselessly for air. Her eyes prickled, and she willed it to come, begged for it to just _listen, for once, this one single time and never again_ – and as her heart beat oddly and her mind blanked with a shuddering last breath, brilliant white light burst out and engulfed the room.

And Ruby's head burst with it.

XXX

Lighting struck from the sky over Vale. If Remnant's entire supply of lightning dust were ignited at once, the effect may have been something similar. A massive forest of crooked light struck the ground. Brighter than daylight, it fiercely burnt through clouds of black dust and Grimm alike. Everything evaporated within a single second. Those stranded around a crashed bullhead suddenly found themselves with no Grimm to fight; the Beacon grounds cleansed in a heartbeat; the Emerald Forest and Forever Fall washed of any lingering darkness.

Twisted limbs and spiked skin burned away to searing agony; a giant dragon roared in blinding pain as its body turned to dust.

A few seconds of blitzing fire engulfed the kingdom. Then silence fell. A few lingering drops of water dripped from roof edges, harmlessly splashing to the ground to join numerous sparkling puddles free of the oily colour it'd had moments before.

Above, the sun warmed from a clear sky.

XXX

Ruby groggily opened her eyes. It wasn't so much a struggle as it was agonizing; her head felt like it was stuck on the sharp end of one of Raven's poles. If she really had been beheaded though, the rest of her body must be one heck of a phantom pain.

Blearily staring at a ceiling through lidded eyes, she spent the next eternity not thinking at all. She'd woken up like this before… more than once, actually. Last time was…

She weakly raised a hand to her head, and the ruffle of blankets must have been loud enough to attract attention. Blake's face was above her within a heartbeat.

"Ruby!"

Worried amber locked with stupefied silver.

"Blake…? What's…" Ruby winced as she tried to move, and Blake put a hand on her shoulder, holding her down.

"Don't move. You're in no shape to sit up yet."

Feeling very much like she was right, and having no energy to fight the hand on her shoulder anyway, Ruby slumped back down.

"What happened…?"

Blake stared at her, chewing on her lip. "Do you… remember anything at all?"

"I remember… Weiss and I were going into the forest…" she scrunched her eyebrows. "There was a strange voice and… some light." She should remember more, knew she should, but the memories throbbed in the back of her mind and refused to surface. "Something happened…"

Blake let out a slow breath. "You could say that."

Ruby weakly turned her head. They were in Signal's infirmary. Several more beds lined the room, and there were even mattresses and blankets littering the ground. More than half of them were occupied, but no familiar faces that stood out.

Right, there'd been a Grimm attack… and something else.

Ruby struggled to get her thoughts in order.

"Where's Weiss… and Yang?"

Blake's fingers dug into her shoulder painfully as the faunus averted her gaze.

"I… don't know how to tell you."

Ruby's eyes widened. Suddenly, she felt wide awake. "Oh no." Tears clouded her vision. A twisted arm. Spiked skin covering a familiar face. A magnificent and terrifying dragon.

"I…" she grimaced, tears trailing unhindered down to her pillow. "I didn't…"

"The Grimm's… gone. All of them. But Oobleck says the infection hadn't yet eaten them up. Not really. So, they were shipped off to Atlas as soon as possible. Weiss was, her arm is… gone, and she's got burns all over her body. It's… bad. And Yang is…" and now Blake was crying to, tears falling upon Ruby's chest. "S-She's barely even alive, Ruby. They tucked her in a tank, or what's left of her anyway. I don't even know… what they can do to save…" She sank down, until her forehead rested against the hand clenching Ruby's shoulder. "I don't know what to do…!"

A cold hand gripped Ruby's heart. She barely felt her hand rise to pat Blake's head, and the motion felt completely devoid of meaning. For a long while they stayed that way, two broken girls trying somehow to stay glued together by the shared sorrow they felt.

Then, Ruby shifted, and tried to sit up again. This time her arms listened, and her vision only swayed twice before settling.

"R-Ruby, what are we going to do?" Blake tried to dry her tears, only for more to come.

Ruby looked at her, and despite everything, forced a small smile onto her face. It carried no happiness at all.

"Blake… what do you think Yang would do if it was you?"

Blake sniffed. "She'd – come with me. If – if you were going, I guess. She… she never wanted to leave you behind, Ruby, I swear…"

"Well," Ruby tried to smile, and failed. Instead, she looked down at her hands. "I guess that answers that."

Blake blinked at her.

"If… if anyone can save them, it's Atlas. So… I'm going to Atlas. To Weiss and Yang. Even if I can't do anything… even if they don't want me there…" tears continued falling from her eyes and she sobbed. "It's the only thing I _can_ do. So… will you come with me?"

It took a second for the words to process and then Blake pulled Ruby into a tight hug.

"Ruby, I'm so sorry! Thank you, thank you for coming back—!"

"Don't say that. Don't thank me!" Ruby cried. "I just messed everything up!"

Blake squeezed harder, then released her, eyes downcast. "This… wasn't your fault, Ruby. We… I was so blind. After everything that happened, I didn't even think that something could be wrong with _you_ , of all people. I'm… sorry."

Even if she wanted to say otherwise, Ruby found no strength to open her mouth. Every muscle in her body suddenly felt like lead.

They sat there in silence as tears continued to fall, for neither knew what more to say.

XXX

The setting sun cast Patch and Signal in the warm hues of autumn. Ruby leaned back against the tree trunk, staring at the sky overhead as the first stars slowly twinkled into existence.

A shadow appeared above her and she blinked, turning her head.

"Hi, Ruby." Oscar's timid voice accompanied his uncertain gaze. Eyes flickering this way and that as he shuffled his feet. He sported a fresh cut over his right eye, along with several small bruises. Ruby stared at him for several long seconds, until he squirmed and spoke up again. "Um, c-can I sit?"

Ruby blinked slowly. "There's room."

"Uh, right." He sat, legs crossed, facing her but not meeting her eyes. "I… heard you're leaving for Atlas tomorrow."

"Yeah… dad too, and Ren's coming along with Nora." Her eyes glazed over. "I just… need to be with them. I dunno if I can help, but… I have to try."

"Um, it's - it's probably the best bet, I mean, sending them to Atlas. I'll… be going there too, as soon as I can. But…" He bit his lip.

"Yeah… Atlas isn't exactly in the best place right now either." Ruby slumped further. "And we still have no CCT… but I can't just sit here and do nothing. The Grimm… are really gone."

They sat in silence for a minute, neither looking at the other. Then, finally, Oscar shook his head and straightened, fixing his eyes on her.

"If anyone can do something it's you, Ruby. Ozpin always had high hopes for you!"

She blinked, then averted her gaze. "Some hope that turned into."

"I mean it!" He leaned forward. "You're only eighteen, Ruby! You've already done so much for Remnant, more than a wizard a thousand times your age could do! Of course there had to be some hiccups!"

" _Some_?" She asked incredulously.

"We – we could all be dead," he muttered, blushing more and more as his words felt like bricks clumsily stacked on top of each other. "And – I wish things were different, but… they're not dead."

She looked away again. "…many are though. I – killed and, on the ship, Ilia and so many others were… even Qrow, he's hurt because of me. They got infected because I messed up!"

Actually he'd gotten hurt protecting Oscar, but he figured saying that would only make Ruby's guilt grow even more.

"Well… their infection was stopped before it could really take hold…"

"That doesn't make it okay!" Ruby cried, grabbing her head. "I ripped their bodies apart, there's nothing good about it, I just messed up so badly and now—" she cut off, sobbing as tears began trailing down her face. "I can't save anyone…"

Oscar fiddled with his hands. "It might take some time… but I'm sure you can—"

"Oscar, just… shut up." Ruby's voice was so drained and tired that he stopped talking out of concern.

Silence enveloped them again, the last rays of the sun slowly vanishing over the school's rooftop. Ruby still had her head in her hands, and Oscar fidgeted beside her, before finally scooting closer. Not close enough to touch. But he didn't want to leave her alone like this.

The silence shared between them felt like a blanket of companionship, ragged and full of holes, but still present.

It was a long while later before he chanced to use his voice again.

"I know this isn't the time… and it never might be, but I've been meaning to tell you something." He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes, but Ruby hadn't moved. Slightly encouraged by the fact that she didn't immediately shoot him down, he tentatively pressed on. "Remnant's struggles aren't over. I believe… and Ozpin did too… that with the Grimm gone, with Salem out of the way, other things will emerge – things that never could before. I believe that huntsmen and huntresses will be in great demand, and we can't afford to stop developing our skills. After all, Remnant is an unforgiving place." He glanced up at the shattered moon which barely had become visible in the dying sunlight. "And, if nothing else, I want to rebuild Beacon for that purpose. When you… when you're ready, if you ever feel like it… I'd love for you to join me in that. A-As a colleague, I mean! If – If you want."

No answer. And _now_ his stomach dropped. Shaking with nerves, he started getting to his feet, only to be captured by two arms. Startled, he fell back into the hug, and flushed crimson as Ruby pressed her face into the crook of his neck.

"Thank you…"

It was no promise. No declaration of love. Just a thank you.

It was all he could hope for.

As he stood to leave, he could only hope. Whether it take months or years… He hoped that a new purpose would one day find its way back to the girl he loved.

XXX

END

* * *

 **A/N:** And here we are.

Ever since Pyrrha's last line at the end of volume 3, "destiny" has been a topic which I'd love to see explored deeper in the RWBY-verse. This was my take on it, from Ruby's perspective. I believe the actual show will give us a far more epic and satisfying story than what I can do here – none of this has any basis in real canon events, of course. That is the beauty of writing, you get to use your imagination.

I'm glad to see they're expanding Ilia's character, since I really like the idea of her and Blake being good friends. Whether or not that friendship is redeemed or not in the actual show remains to be seen.

The goal of this story has been "completion": get it done, get it out. That's why this is not a story of epic proportions. It also means there've been less focus on going in-depth and more focus on pushing the plot ahead. That has had upsides and downsides, an experience I'll bring with me onwards. I wrote this story within the span of a month and spent a little more on editing and posting. My goal has been reached this time.

Until next time!


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